As we head towards the weekend, the same warm and muggy conditions remain each day. We will also begin to welcome back daily chances of showers and thunderstorms that should be closely monitored during outdoor activities. Hurricane Rafael will encounter an aggressive environment in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend which will work to slow down and weaken the storm.

Scroll down to The Tropics section for the latest on Hurricane Rafael.

Today & Tonight: Thursday morning conditions will be much like the past few days, mild and muggy. Temperatures will begin near 73° in Baton Rouge under mostly cloudy skies. We cannot rule out some of those clouds sinking to ground level and limited visibilities during the morning commute. Once the sun rises in the 6 o'clock hour, skies will turn partly cloudy for the remainder of the day. This will allow temperatures to soar into the 80's, likely even hitting 90 degrees for another record warm November afternoon in the Capital City. This would again set the latest 90 degree temperature in the calendar year for the fifth time in 2024. The record high for the day is 88 set back in 2022. A few spotty thunderstorm may move through the region this afternoon as plenty of moisture will support rain activity. 

Tonight, winds become a bit elevated and will eliminate any fog chances. Temperatures will remain well above average, in the low to mid 70s with the same sticky feel in the air. 

Up Next: Friday will be warm and muggy with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Increasing clouds tied to moisture from Rafael in the central Gulf of Mexico may give way to isolated showers during the day. 

This Weekend: Saturday and Sunday depend on the exact position of Hurricane Rafael and a weak cold front moving towards the state from the west. It is now highly likely that the storm will remain offshore and not directly strike Louisiana. However, the closer it moves to the coast, the more likely that periods of rain will affect the state. The front will also help motivate shower and thunderstorm activity ahead of it, the question will be how far east does the activity reach. That is the next detail that will be ironed out in the coming days.

For now, you should be prepared for scattered showers and storms both days, with the idea that the forecast could trend drier if both system end up further away from our area. Of course, given a tropical system in the region there may be a breeze and some minor coastal flooding as well. In either case, there should be a good deal of cloud cover which will limit high temperatures to the mid 80s but humid air will keep low temperatures in the low 70s. 

Get the latest 7-day forecast and real time weather updates HERE.

Watch live news HERE.

The Tropics: Hurricane Rafael has now began to weaken as it enters the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early Thursday morning. The storm crossed over western Cuba on Wednesday as a Major Category 3 storm and has now weakened to Category 2 strength with winds of 105 mph. Continued weakening is expected as Rafael travels west towards the central Gulf where it will spend the weekend and slowly begin to fizzle out. 

Relatively cooler water temperatures, dry air and wind shear will all make a more hostile environment for the storm and help weaken the storm over the next several days. Stay tuned to the Storm Station Forecast through the weekend, and bookmark the Hurricane Center for new storm information every three hours.

It is worth noting that Louisiana has never experienced a landfall by a named system in the month of November. Should that occur, it would be unprecedented. But with a lack of cold fronts cleanly passing through to help shield the region from the system in the coming days, it is worth monitoring.

The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and Twitter for even more weather updates while you are on the go.