Beneficial rains should lead to drought improvement and lifting of Burn Bans.

(KSLA) - The drought map still shows an Extreme Drought in Northwest Louisiana and parts of Northeast Texas.

There has been some improvement in the far southern parishes and counties, but we are not out of the woods yet.

So burn bans continue for a good chunk of the ArkLaTex.

However, some burn bans were lifted after appreciable rains from midweek through Friday. Caddo is one of the fortunate parishes.

We do need more beneficial rain before the drought map shows marked improvement. (By the way, a new drought map comes out Thursday).

The first graphic below shows the overall rain projections for the next seven days. It is not too optimistic with above average rain chances for mid-August.

But the Weather Prediction Center, a division of NOAA that deals with rain projections and statistics, is a bit more optimistic.

The first graphic is the Weather Prediction Center projection for Wednesday, which is dismal.

The second graphic is for Friday, which shows a decent chance.

The third graphic shows Saturday's chances of rain in a 24-hour period to be a bit lower but still in the much-needed ballpark.

It appears that the fourth graphic, Sunday, shows a rain projection in the category of "good chance."

I find that the Weather Prediction Center does a reputable analysis on which I can usually rely.

Another added benefit of additional chances of beneficial rain is below-normal temperatures.

The first graphic below is for Wednesday, and the second is for Sunday.

Wednesday's dismal outlook for rain will lead to mid-90s for much of the area.

However, the good chance for rain and storms Sunday leads to below-normal highs. This would be a double blessing.

Alas, we are always at the mercy of Mother Nature when making a forecast seven to 12 days out.

But if the trend we have seen this weekend is any indication, we may be able to avoid the traditional "dog days of summer."

Time will tell, but the latter part of the week ahead into the weekend could be more good news.

Download the free KSLA First Alert weather app to your smartphone
Check the weather page at KSLA.com
Follow KSLA First Alert 12 on Facebook and Twitter
Watch KSLA News 12 on Roku and Amazon Fire TV

Copyright 2018 KSLA. All rights reserved.