Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Will Experiencing Lingering Moisture Through Wednesday

Posted: May 30, 2023 10:40 am

Just because the massive coastal storm that dumped heavy rain across the Southeast is in the rearview mirror, it does not mean that the dreary weather is going to clear out right away.

Forecasters are predicting that the gray skies and chance of rain will linger in the Carolinas and Virginia through the first part of the week. Here is a detailed look at the forecast.

Washout for the Southeast Over Holiday Weekend

As wet as it was in the Southeast over the holiday weekend, it could have been a lot worse. A week ago, meteorologists were warning that the storm system brewing off the coast of the Carolinas could intensify into the first named tropical event of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

However, the system did not stick around in the warm ocean waters long enough to take on these tropical characteristics.

It was still a raw weekend for much of the region with torrential rain and gusty winds distinguishing the unofficial start to summer. The South Carolina coast received the brunt of the rain. For instance, Charleston recorded over 2 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday.

Other rainfall totals for the weekend included Charlotte with 2.17 inches and Savannah, Georgia recording 1.38 inches on Saturday alone. Farther to the north, Raleigh, North Carolina came in with about half of an inch of rain.

Messy Weather in the Cards to Start the Week

The remnants of this monster storm system are forecast to hang around past the Memorial Day holiday. An upper low anchored over North Carolina and Virginia will not give the weather enough space to depart the region. This means that the chance of rain and stormy conditions will be in the forecast for the next few days.

Motorists were dealing with wet roads and strong winds on Monday as they returned home from long weekend plans. The inclement weather forced the postponement of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on Sunday. The weather held off long enough for the race to go off on Sunday.

Conditions improved slightly on Monday thanks to the upper low moving a bit to the northeast. This brought drier conditions for the Carolinas to close out the holiday weekend.

You can expect the region to dry out from south to north in the coming days. This pattern will translate to areas such as Virginia and Maryland still dealing with sporadic rain showers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Drier weather is on tap for the last part of the week for this part of the mid-Atlantic, giving the rain-soaked area a break.

Forecasters Continue to Monitor the Atlantic Basin

Although this weekend’s storm system never did gain enough strength to develop into a tropical system, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) will continue to monitor another area of potential development off the coast of the southeastern U.S.

This development will be made possible by a southward dip in the jet stream expected for later this week. This dip will pave the way for rain and storm development that could take on some tropical characteristics in an area stretching from the Bahamas down into the Caribbean.

This part of the Atlantic has already been pinpointed as the most likely spot for early-season tropical development. The official start of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is June 1. The first named storm of the season will be called Arlene.

Although the Southeast got its fair share of rain this weekend, much of the state of Florida is still under drought conditions.

The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor indicates that over half of the Sunshine State is dealing with abnormally dry conditions while about a quarter of Florida is under the designation of an official drought.

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