Rain from Texas to the Mississippi River
Rain will soak a large area reaching from northern and eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi River over the next few days.
The same storm aiming to bring snow to the central Plains and severe weather farther south will bring more drenching rain to part of Texas, Oklahoma and other states.
The rainstorm follows in the footsteps of locally heavy rain in part of the region last week. Up to half a foot of rain fell with that storm. January has been quite kind to some hard-hit drought areas in the region, but not everywhere.
Some rain will fall on part of west-central and south Texas, but unfortunately little or no rain is likely over the western Texas Panhandle once again through the weekend.
As a glimmer of hope, another system rolling out from the Pacific has a chance at bringing showers to southern New Mexico and the upper Rio Grande area during the middle of next week.
Some of the rain into this weekend will occur at the expense of severe weather. When and where the storms do not bring strong winds, they can bring torrential rainfall. As a result, there is the risk of flash and urban flooding.
Dark red areas on this map indicate areas of exceptional drought, while yellow areas are regions where conditions have been abnormally dry in recent months. This map is a product of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and shows the drought status as of Jan. 31, 2012.
Recent rain in the central and eastern parts of Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley have helped with the drought situation. However, more rain is needed on a gradual basis, especially in southern and western parts of Texas, eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas.
Portions of Texas and western Oklahoma have had only 50 percent of their normal rainfall since July 1, 2011. A few locations in the region have received two to three times their normal rainfall during this January.
More Weather News
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What's Next for Beryl?
May 28, 2012; 12:25 PM ET
Beryl, with its drenching downpours and locally severe thunderstorms is expected to turn to the northeast, paralleling the Carolina coast during the middle of the week.
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Memorial Day Storms Albany to Boston
May 28, 2012; 12:09 PM ET
Locally strong thunderstorms will roll across upstate New York and through part of New England into this evening.
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"Mothership Cloud" Supercell Tornado In Texas
May 28, 2012; 12:07 PM ET
Storm chasers spotted the storm on May 21.
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Photos: After-Effects of Tropical Storm Beryl
May 28, 2012; 12:00 PM ET
"Beryl, shmeryl..." No serious damage has been reported.
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Severe Flooding in Northwestern Ontario
May 28, 2012; 10:49 AM ET
A state of emergency has been declared in the Thunder Bay area after severe flooding struck parts of Ontario's Lake Superior region.
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Watching the Caribbean in the Wake of Beryl
May 28, 2012; 9:30 AM ET
The same general area of disturbed weather in the Caribbean that seeded Beryl, could attempt yet another tropical system this week.
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Severe Storms to Slam Chicago, St. Louis, Springfield
May 28, 2012; 9:22 AM ET
Damaging thunderstorms will ignite from Chicago to St. Louis to Springfield later this afternoon and evening.
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Memorial Day Weather for "Founding" Towns
May 28, 2012; 9:01 AM ET
Officially, Waterloo, N.Y., is the birthplace of Memorial Day, however, many towns in the U.S. claim the honor of being the first.
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Atlantic Hurricane Forecast: Storms Close to the Coast
May 28, 2012; 7:32 AM ET
AccuWeather's 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecasts 12 named tropical storms, five named hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
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Beryl's Impacts on the Southeast
May 28, 2012; 5:25 AM ET
As Beryl moves into the Southeast, its impacts will be widespread. However, not all news will be bad.
Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 100° | Smyrna, TN |
| Low | 15° | Sunset Crater, AZ |
| Precip | 3.99" | Wadena, MN |
WeatherWhys®
Hail is much more common during the months of May and June compared to July and August. The main reason is the fact that the freezing level is usually higher during July and August as pockets of cold air in the upper atmosphere are less common as the jet stream weakens and retreats farther north.
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