Louisiana’s

Weather

Fact # 2

Fact #1

Weather –is often confused with the word “climate” but

they are not the same. Weather is a look at the current

conditions – temperature,

precipitation, and wind.

Fact # 3

Fact #2

Climate – is the average of weather over an area during a long span. The weatherman does not give a climate report.

Fact # 4Humid Subtropical – Louisiana has the same

weather as areas near the equator yet we had

some cold snaps which give us our subtropical

status.

Fact #3

Fact #4

Temperature – Louisiana has two extremes and both were recorded in north Louisiana.

The record cold was -15 at Minden in Webster parish (2/15/1899). The record high was 114 at Plain Dealing in Bossier parish (8/10/1936).

The towns were less than 50 miles apart.

Precipitation – means any form of water – rain, sleet, hail, snow – liquid

or solid. You tend to get more in southern Louisiana and less in

northern Louisiana.

Fact #5

Tornadoes – give very little warning and develop in less than 5 to 10 minutes. Radar can spot tornadoes but not in time to warn people.

Tornado wind speeds can reach as much as 300 mph and have a destructive path as wide as a football field.

Fact #6

Fajita Scale – Tornadoes use a Fajita scale of intensity from F-0 (40-72mph) up to a F-5 (261-318mph)

Louisiana ranks in the top 12 states that are hit by tornadoes each year.

Fact #7

Hurricane – begins over tropical waters and rotate around a

calm center. Radar can generally predict

landfall to with a few hours. Even though they

cover more land than tornadoes, people have

time to prepare and move from their path.

Fact #8

Saffir-Simpson – Hurricanes are rated on a SS Scale of 1-5. Category 1 (74-95mph) to Cat 5 (over 155). More than 60 hurricanes have hit Louisiana since 1850 but it will be the two that struck in 2005 that will be long remembered – Katrina and Rita.

Fact #9

Climate and Agriculture – Our climate helps with a longer growing season nearly 200 days - more moist days, more sunlight, less chance for frost but sometimes the unexpected happens like hurricanes, tornadoes, early frost.

Fact #9