Stormy Weather to Set Up in South Throughout the Weekend

Posted: April 23, 2021 3:34 pm

It is not going to be a quiet weekend throughout the South. A large area of storms is expected to ignite starting in Oklahoma and continuing into Texas, the Gulf Coast, and all the way to the Atlantic coast.

Cold Weather Ushers in Weekend

Many people in the Southeast woke up to unseasonably cold temperatures on Friday morning with some areas put under frost advisories and freeze warnings. A low-temperature record was set in Memphis when the mercury dipped to 37 degrees, breaking the previous historic low of 39 degrees from 1927. This cold swath of air stretched up through Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and beyond.

Cold to Make Way for Stormy Conditions

The cold weather will transition to a weather pattern characterized by storms and unstable conditions over the next few days throughout the South. This active weather pattern will bring the potential of large hail, strong winds, and isolated flooding to a large part of the nation throughout the entirety of the weekend.

The first signal of a change in weather patterns will be an increase in humidity. A warm front will move into the area, pairing with warm moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to boost the humidity and increase the chances that storms fire up. Texas will likely see the first of the boomers with the potential for severe thunderstorms beginning on Friday afternoon.

Large Hail a Primary Concern

Forecasters are most worried about the potential of large hail beginning on Friday night for parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Strong winds will also be on tap as the weather pattern shifts. While there is not expected to be a significant tornado outbreak, it will not be out of the realm of possibility to see an isolated twister out of these storms.

Tracking the Storms

Although the storms will initially erupt over Texas and Oklahoma, the system will move into southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana by late Friday. Saturday’s epicenter of storm activity is expected to fall along the Gulf Coast and into the Florida Panhandle. This line of storms will stretch into the Carolinas as the activity picks up throughout the day on Saturday.

The worst of the storms will finally move offshore in the overnight hours of Saturday into Sunday. However, lingering rain will plague the region through the day Sunday.

Soaking Rain to Raise Flooding Risk

This will not be a fast-moving system, increasing the chances that the already saturated ground may not be able to handle the additional rain. Portions of northern Louisiana and central Mississippi are likely to see the heaviest of rainfall through the end of the day Sunday. Cities in the line of fire for torrential downpours include Shreveport, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi, Montgomery, Alabama, and Atlanta.

Drivers may need to exercise caution across some stretches of interstates 10, 20, and 35 beginning Friday night and continuing for the next few days. Increasing amounts of rain will increase the risk of hydroplaning. The busy I-95 corridor in the Northeast will see the heaviest rainfall amounts on Sunday.

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