Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the Louisiana Weather Podcast — it's Wednesday, February 25th.

You woke up to 51 degrees. That's not a typo — we skipped straight past winter and landed in early April.

Down in Southeast Louisiana, you bottomed out at 53 around 5 A.M. By 4 P.M.? You're hitting 73 degrees under mostly sunny skies. South winds running 5 to 15 miles an hour, just enough to feel pleasant. Tonight settles at 64 under mostly cloudy skies.

Head up to the Capital Region and you started at 51 around 5 A.M. By 2 P.M., you're climbing to 74 degrees. Partly sunny with those same gentle south breezes. Tonight drops to 63 degrees.

Northwest Louisiana — you're the hot spot today. Low of 55 around 5 A.M., then rocketing to 81 degrees by 4 P.M. Partly sunny with south winds steady around 12 miles an hour, gusting to 50 miles an hour. That's warm enough to make you question your calendar. Tonight eases to 61.

Thursday keeps the warmth rolling. Southeast hits 77, Capital Region reaches 78, Northwest tops out at 80. All partly sunny with a slight chance of afternoon showers.

But Thursday night? That's when things get interesting. Showers and thunderstorms move in, especially east of I-55. Expect a quarter to three-quarters of an inch, with coastal areas possibly seeing more. Friday morning starts wet, then clears out.

The weekend looks gorgeous. Sunny skies with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s, lows in the 50s. That pattern holds into early next week — temperatures running well above normal for late February.

We're gaining 1 minute and 47 seconds of daylight today. Spring equinox is three weeks out, but honestly? It feels like it's already here.

That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.