HARM TO CIVILIANS. HERE AT HOME, IT IS A. WDSU. FIRST WARNING WEATHER ALERT DAY. A BIG ALERT OUT THERE FOR MANY OF US. IF YOU HAVEN’T STEPPED OUTSIDE YET, YOU WANT TO STAY INSIDE. IT’S PRETTY BRUTAL TO STAY INSIDE. STAY WHERE YOU’VE GOT THE AC IF YOU IF YOU HAVE IT. UM, MAN, WE DEFINITELY NEEDED THOSE SHOWERS LAST NIGHT. IT DEFINITELY COOL THINGS OFF FOR A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE NEED THEM AGAIN TODAY. ABSOLUTELY. AND YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS IN PLAQUEMINES PARISH ARE PARTS OF PLAQUEMINES PARISH ARE EXPERIENCING SOME RAINFALL. SO THE TEMPERATURES ARE MUCH LOWER THERE. MOVING ON THROUGH. YEAH. TAKE IT. TAKE IT UP NORTH. WE’RE EXPECTING MORE OF THOSE SHOWERS AND STORMS, ESPECIALLY DOWN HERE ON THE SOUTH SHORE, AS WE GO THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, THE RAIN DOESN’T COME UNTIL AFTER THE TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE MID TO THE UPPER 90S. SO STEAMY. YEAH. SO? SO, YEAH, IT BECOMES STEAM ACROSS MANY PARTS OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA. SO MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. SO FAR THIS MORNING. AND HERE’S A LOOK AT ERNESTO. OF COURSE, WE’RE STILL FOLLOWING ERNESTO VERY, VERY CLOSELY AS IT CONTINUES ON IN THAT NORTHERLY DIRECTION. DEALING WITH A LITTLE BIT OF DRY AIR. MUCH MORE ORGANIZED THAN IT WAS YESTERDAY. AND IT IS MOVING TOWARDS OR CLOSER AND CLOSER TO BERMUDA. AND YOU CAN MAKE OUT BERMUDA RIGHT THERE. IT’S ABOUT 550 MILES OR SO AWAY FROM BERMUDA. AND WE’VE GOT A LITTLE GLITCH IN THE SATELLITE. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE HURRICANE HUNTERS ARE OUT INVESTIGATING THIS SYSTEM, AND THEY’RE PROBABLY GOING TO FIND A SLIGHTLY STRONGER SYSTEM THAN THE THAN LAST. THEY WERE OUT THERE BECAUSE THIS THING IS STILL MOVING OVER WATER. THAT IS PRETTY WARM IN THE MID 80S. AND NO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DRY AIR AND NO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WIND SHEAR. SO IT DOES HAVE SOME POTENTIAL FOR GETTING STRONGER THAN IT IS RIGHT NOW. AND AS WE LOOK OUT OVER THE ATLANTIC BASIN, THERE ARE A FEW MORE TROPICAL WAVES OUT HERE. BUT ERNESTO IS THE ONLY TROPICAL SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE, AND WE’RE NOT EXPECTING MUCH OF A CHANGE TO THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT THIS THING IS HEADED ALMOST DIRECTLY TOWARDS BERMUDA, AND IT COULD POSSIBLY BECOME A CATEGORY THREE STORM. BUT RIGHT NOW, THE LATEST NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FORECAST TRACK HAS THIS THING BECOMING A VERY STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BEFORE IT MOVES OVER OR NEAR BERMUDA. AS WE GO INTO SATURDAY FOR THE MOST PART, STAYING OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT THE RIP CURRENTS THAT IT’S GOING TO CREATE ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. HERE IS THE GFS SHOWING THIS THING MAKING ITS WAY DIRECTLY TOWARDS BERMUDA. LOOKS LIKE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING. SO DURING THE NIGHTTIME HOURS, WHICH IS THE WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO AND THEN IT MAKES ITS WAY UP NORTH AND INTO THE NORTH ATLANTIC WHERE IT EVENTUALLY DIES OUT. AND THEN IN THAT PERIOD, NOTHING ELSE IS SHOWING UP ON THE GFS. NO OTHER TROPICAL SYSTEMS AT ALL. SO THAT’S SOME GOOD NEWS FOR ALL OF US. THE HEAT IS OUR BIG ISSUE HERE IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA, BUT THE HEAT, THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING AREA STRETCHES WELL INTO ARKANSAS AND A LITTLE BIT INTO TENNESSEE AS WELL. FOR US, IT COVERS ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA, HANCOCK AND PEARL RIVER COUNTIES, AND IT’S AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING TODAY BECAUSE HEAT INDEX VALUES IN PARTS OF OUR AREA COULD RISE TO ABOUT 118 DEGREES. THIS AFTERNOON. THAT IS DANGEROUS, DANGEROUS HEAT. YOU GOT TO PROTECT YOURSELF. YOU GOT TO WEAR LIGHTWEIGHT, LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING. KEEP YOURSELF AS HYDRATED AS POSSIBLE. TAKE BREAKS IN THE SHADE OR IN THE AIR CONDITIONING, PREFERABLY IN THE AIR CONDITIONING. AIR QUALITY IS BETTER THAN IT WAS YESTERDAY WHEN WE HAD AN OZONE ALERT DAY. SO THAT’S SOME GOOD NEWS. AND THOSE FEELS LIKE TEMPERATURES RIGHT NOW. 107 IN NEW ORLEANS OVER IN SLIDELL AND AT THE LAKEFRONT WHERE IT’S 91 DEGREES, THE FEELS LIKE TEMPERATURE IS 106. THE RAIN THAT I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DOWN HERE ON THE SOUTH SHORE OVER PARTS OF PLAQUEMINES PARISH. SOME OF THAT’S GOING TO STRETCH OVER THE OTHER, OTHER PARTS OF THE SOUTH SHORE PRIMARILY, BUT YOU’RE GOING TO GET A FEW ON THE NORTH SHORE AS WELL. HERE’S A LOOK AT YOUR WDSU FIRST WARNING SEVEN DAY FORECAST. THE RAINFALL SHOULD COOL THINGS OFF TODAY AND TOMORROW. AND THEN THOSE TEMPERATURES ARE GOING BACK UP NEXT WEEK AT LEAST. MY GARDE