The 18th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off is underway in New Orleans! There you can find lots of food and fun, but you may want to keep an umbrella handy as the weekend moves forward.

We do have rain and storms around the area Friday but as expected this activity is much more hit or miss than the past few days. These cells are moving to the northwest. They are producing heavy downpours so be aware of that but the movement should help prevent any flooding issues. Overall this trend will continue through the weekend.

Showers and storms will be popping up each afternoon through Sunday but in a bit more standard summer pattern. This means more localized downpours and warmer temperatures if you are not getting rained on. These cells will still have the chance to produce heavy downpours.

Expect most of the rain to diminish at night but then redevelop each afternoon with the daytime heating. Look for highs around 90-92 before rain moves in. After that some areas will stay hot that are farther away from the rain while areas nearby will fall into the low 80s.

On Saturday, showers may pop up, but the competition heats up as some of the nation’s top names in seafood cuisine gather in New Orleans. The chefs get underway at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with the winner announced around 3:15 p.m. For a complete listing of chefs, click here.