This year, Louisiana - along with much of the Gulf Coast - experienced a record breaking drought which fueled unprecedented wildfires and a devastating saltwater intrusion into the Mississippi River which contaminated drinking supplies. However, this week and much of November will bring much needed relief in the form of significant rainfall.

The U.S. Drought Monitoring agency has categorized this as “exceptional drought” which is the most extreme category. According to data released last Thursday, this drought has spread across nearly 80% of Louisiana - the largest area of exceptional drought on record in the state. This drought has also encompassed nearly half of Mississippi and a portion of eastern Texas.

It is expected that southern Louisiana will experience roughly one to three inches of rainfall early this week which will help the region recover slightly from the incredibly hot and dry summer caused by a rainfall deficit. This rainfall will occur mainly south of Interstate 10, with higher numbers possible along the coastline.

A slow storm churning in the Gulf of Mexico is to thank for this relief. Rainfall is expected to expand slowly and move eastward towards Mississippi, Alabama and Florida towards the end of the week. This is unlikely to cause any significant flooding issues but is cause for concern as the stormy weather will likely lead to choppy seas and potential flooding near the coast at high tide. However, it is unknown currently if this rainfall will make enough of a difference in Louisiana’s current exceptional drought to warrant a downgrade in drought intensity categories.

Doug Cramer, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, stated, “Any kind of rainfall we can get, especially when it’s widespread like this, is very beneficial to the area. It does appear as though [Louisiana] is going to continue to see rain chances over the next couple of weeks, so that’s good news.” He noted that it was too soon to say with any certainty whether drought categories would change until a rainfall analysis could be conducted after the event concludes.

Historical records show that many parts of Louisiana have had less than half of the typical rainfall levels recorded at this point in the year. Cramer concluded that El Nino would be a great opportunity to receive a reduction in drought. “El Nino is typically wet along the Gulf Coast over the winter time, so we’re optimistic we can start to move the needle on this.”