The routine will continue with morning showers and thunderstorms along the coast followed by afternoon showers and thunderstorms inland. Temperatures will be close to seasonal averages. Monday's forecast worked out as expected with almost everybody in the 13 Parish, 3 County forecast area receiving rainfall. Amounts stayed fairly manageable, just topping 3 inches in southwest Mississippi.

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight: Tuesday should see a slight decline in the number of showers and thunderstorms that develop across the area during afternoon. After some early sunshine, scattered action will break out by afternoon. Brief downpours are possible. High temperatures will be near 92 degrees and then low temperatures will be in the mid 70s as inland showers end overnight.

Up Next: Rain coverage will slowly tick back into the isolated category for the middle of the week, as an upper level ridge of high pressure over northern Mexico, will shift slightly east. By Friday, a weak disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico could develop and enhance rain coverage for the weekend. Overall, temperatures will be close to average for the time of year, with high temperature “busts” only occurring where rain cooling tamps warming. 

The Tropics: The Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are quiet. A weak disturbance east of New England is given a 10 percent chance of development as it races out to sea. With no named storms since Barry on July 15 through August 19, this is the first time that stretch has been named storm free since 1982, which was a historically inactive hurricane season. A large plume of Saharan dust across the eastern Atlantic has kept the favored development region very quiet.  

THE EXPLANATION:

Efficient rainfall rates with scattered thunderstorms will be the main weather issue through the weekend. Adding to the threat for heavy rain, thunderstorms will be very slow moving. Fortunately, they will rain themselves out though. Either way, rainfall rates could cause a lot of water in a short time, which could overwhelm some drainage systems. A storm producing rainfall at a rate of 3 inches per hour could lead to flooding of low lying and poor drainage areas. By the end of the week, a shortwave trough of low pressure will move southeast across the Great Lakes and Northeast. This will pull an inverted upper level trough to the north across the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of these two features should not have significant impacts to the forecast area, but will maintain a moist summer pattern with elevated rain chances through the period. Through Sunday, the total rain forecast will be for 2 to 5 inches with localized higher amounts possible—mainly near the coast.

--Josh

The WBRZ Weather Team is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App. on Apple and Android devices. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and Twitter for even more weather updates while you are on the go.

BATON ROUGE - Most people didn't even know the program existed until they showed up to pay their traffic ticket at state court in downtown Baton Rouge. The program allows speeding drivers to donate blood in exchange for having the ticket and fines erased from their record. After WBRZ asked how it worked, the program was abruptly put on hold.

As blood supplies for sickle cell patients in Baton Rouge dwindled, Lori Burgess started looking for creative ways to increase the blood bank.

"We submitted letters to the judges," Burgess said. "Basically we did get approval through the 19th JDC."

This summer, the Sickle Cell Association of South Louisiana worked out a deal that most drivers who get caught speeding would like to get. In exchange for a pint of blood, tickets and the fines would be forgiven with no trace on insurance.

"We're copying an idea out of Houston," Burgess said. "MD Anderson has a program where the judges will give community service hours for those individuals that will donate blood."

Drivers who donate blood are filed as having done enough community service hours to pay-off their ticket. A handful of drivers took advantage of this program. 

"Well, yeah we've had some people," Burgess said.

The program is not the only one of its kind. However, as of Monday, the program was on hold due to logistics, according to a court administrator. This means lead-footed drivers won't be donating blood to get a free pass. 

Now, Burgess and the others at the Sickle Cell Association are putting the pedal to the metal to find other ways to stock the blood bank on their behalf. 

"You could save a life," Burgess said. "Who wouldn't want to save a life if you could?"

PORT ALLEN - Videos obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit Monday show what attorney Oliver Hadley describes as "bad behavior" on the part of Deputy Vance Matranga with the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.

Matranga is the same deputy who was executing a search warrant with the River West Task Force at the Budget 7 Motel in Port Allen last month, when he shot and killed Josef Richardson. Autopsy results showed Richardson was shot in the back of the neck.

Last week, the sheriff's office publicly released Matranga's name as the shooter.

Prior to that happening, the WBRZ Investigative Unit sent a public record requests to the entities involved about Matranga's background.

Monday, videos were released to WBRZ that appear to show an encounter with Fredrick Johnson in 2016 that is now the focus of a federal lawsuit. At least one of the videos appears to show a take-down filmed from a gas station's surveillance cameras.

WBRZ is not able to confirm the identity of the law enforcement officer in the video, but Attorney Oliver Hadley of New Orleans said it's Matranga violently tackling his client, Fredrick Johnson, to the ground. Hadley claims that tackle ultimately broke Johnson's leg.

In the lawsuit, Hadley names the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, Vance Magtranga and a number of other officers from the Port Allen Police Department, claiming they used excessive force. The lawsuit alleges, "...officers far exceeded a reasonable and necessary level of force, specifically, hitting Johnson with their car and breaking one of his legs."

The videos we obtained do not show Johnson being hit by a car, but they do give perspective into what happened. According to the body camera videos we reviewed, Johnson refused to obey commands from a Port Allen police officer. The officer then chased after Johnson and deployed her taser. Johnson ran away, and Hadley said Johnson was ultimately tackled by Matranga.

Matranga is seen on body camera, but the moment of the tackle was not captured.

"He's complaining about an ankle injury," an officer was recorded saying.

Hadley said that same officer waived his client's right to medical treatment, and he was booked into jail without being properly examined.

"I think that based on that happened to Mr. Johnson, coupled with what we know about this latest incident, goes to show a pattern and practice of bad behavior," Hadley said.  "We will get answers and those responsible will be held accountable."

Court records show Matranga's latest shooting has caused delay in the federal case involving Johnson. A court gave all sides more time to gather evidence and conduct interviews with Matranga by September.