Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the Louisiana Weather Podcast — it's Monday, February 23rd.

Alright folks, we need to talk fire danger. A Red Flag Warning is up for most of the state today. North winds gusting to 35 miles an hour, humidity dropping to 20 percent — that's tinder-dry air meeting serious wind. Any spark could take off running. Several parishes already have burn bans. And if you're driving through St. Tammany Parish this morning, heads up for dense smoke near Lacombe until around 10 A.M. Visibility's rough out there.

Now let's talk temps. We're starting mild — 33 degrees in Baton Rouge, 35 in New Orleans — but tonight? We're diving to freezing. North of I32 degrees and I32 degrees, you might wake up to frost on the windshield Tuesday morning.

Here's where it gets wild. By Wednesday, we're flirting with the mid-70s. Thursday could hit 78 degrees in Southeast Louisiana. That's a 40-degree swing in 48 hours. Your closet's about to get a workout.

Southeast Louisiana, you're topping out at 55 degrees around 4 P.M. Today. Winds shift northwest around 2 P.M. Tonight drops to 38 degrees by 5 A.M., then you wake up Tuesday to 62.

Capital Region, same 55-degree high around 2 P.M., but you're colder tonight — 33 degrees by 5 A.M. Winds go northeast around 10 P.M.

Northwest Louisiana, you're coolest this morning at 33, warming to 57 by 5 P.M. Tonight back to 33, with winds shifting northwest around 3 P.M.

The week ahead? Tuesday stays sunny, then Wednesday jumps to the mid-70s. Thursday's cold front brings showers and storms — especially south of I-10 — with rain lingering into Friday morning. The weekend bounces back warm and sunny, mid-70s both days.

One bright spot: sunrise today is 6:39 A.M. We've gained nearly two minutes of daylight since last week. Spring's coming.

Stay safe with those fires today. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.