Downpours to get tropical boost in Southeast
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 23, 2021 10:08 AM EDT
Showers and thunderstorms erupted from the south-central U.S. to the Southeast on Monday, bringing heavy rain to many areas.
Rounds of wet weather will continue to inundate parts of the southeastern United States this week. More than one location may experience an uptick in storminess with the help of excess tropical moisture, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, who were busy monitoring the potential for tropical development near the Southeast coast.
Flooding has been rampant across the Southeast and Gulf Coast as stormy weather has pestered the region so far in 2021. Following an unusually wet spring, much of the region has been deluged by above-normal rainfall thus far this summer.
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"Since June 1, cities from New Orleans to Atlanta and Raleigh, North Carolina, have recorded 140% or more of normal rainfall for so far this summer," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer said.
Biloxi, Mississippi, has been particularly hard hit, with the area picking up more than 26 inches of rain since June 1, which is a whopping 212% of normal. A staggering 12.13 inches of that rain has come in the first three weeks of July alone.
Now, two different storms are set to bring even more rain through the weekend.
One weather system will continually pump in moist, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, which will enhance rainfall in the already rain-soaked region.
"Although daily rainfall totals may not be a extreme as past events, the persistent moisture will increase the risk of flash flooding," said Smithmyer.
Urban flooding is expected to be the main concern, but small streams could also, once again, spill their banks.
The area of heaviest rainfall, and the tropical moisture, will shift as the week comes to a close and a second tropical player takes shape.
"We are monitoring an area of low pressure that is expected to form off the northern Florida and Georgia Atlantic coast, or the Florida Gulf coast later this week," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
The feature, combined with a stalled front in the region, will cause frequent bouts of showers and thunderstorms to erupt across the southeastern U.S. through week's end.
The warm Gulf Stream waters off the coast of Florida could help to give the low pressure area a small chance of becoming a more organized tropical system. The next name on the 2021 list for the Atlantic is Fred should the system strengthen enough to become a tropical storm.
AccuWeather forecasters upped the potential for tropical development off the Southeast coast to medium on Friday morning.
Either way, Miller says that the low is forecast to drift out to sea by early next week.
"Regardless of whether or not the tropical low becomes more organized, it should enhance the rainfall for portions of Florida from Friday through the weekend," Miller explained.
It is not out of the question that some locations could receive three or more inches of rain before the end of the weekend.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that the more active-than-normal start to the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is partially to blame for the persistent wet conditions across the region.
According to the Nation Hurricane Center (NHC), the average arrival of the fifth named storm of the hurricane season is Aug. 31. This year, the E storm, Hurricane Elsa, was first named on July 1, almost two months earlier than normal.
AccuWeather forecasters are anticipating the active hurricane season to continue well into November. Since Elsa, a plethora of dry air and Saharan dust has kept tropical development at bay.
The rest of the globe has had its share of tropical activity already this week. Tropical Storm Guillermo and Hurricane Felicia, which reached Category 4 strength, both plowed through the East Pacific Ocean earlier this week. In the West Pacific, both In-fa and Cempaka both continue to threaten China with more torrential rainfall.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Hurricane
Downpours to get tropical boost in Southeast
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 23, 2021 10:08 AM EDT
Showers and thunderstorms erupted from the south-central U.S. to the Southeast on Monday, bringing heavy rain to many areas.
Rounds of wet weather will continue to inundate parts of the southeastern United States this week. More than one location may experience an uptick in storminess with the help of excess tropical moisture, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, who were busy monitoring the potential for tropical development near the Southeast coast.
Flooding has been rampant across the Southeast and Gulf Coast as stormy weather has pestered the region so far in 2021. Following an unusually wet spring, much of the region has been deluged by above-normal rainfall thus far this summer.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Since June 1, cities from New Orleans to Atlanta and Raleigh, North Carolina, have recorded 140% or more of normal rainfall for so far this summer," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer said.
Biloxi, Mississippi, has been particularly hard hit, with the area picking up more than 26 inches of rain since June 1, which is a whopping 212% of normal. A staggering 12.13 inches of that rain has come in the first three weeks of July alone.
Now, two different storms are set to bring even more rain through the weekend.
One weather system will continually pump in moist, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, which will enhance rainfall in the already rain-soaked region.
"Although daily rainfall totals may not be a extreme as past events, the persistent moisture will increase the risk of flash flooding," said Smithmyer.
Urban flooding is expected to be the main concern, but small streams could also, once again, spill their banks.
The area of heaviest rainfall, and the tropical moisture, will shift as the week comes to a close and a second tropical player takes shape.
"We are monitoring an area of low pressure that is expected to form off the northern Florida and Georgia Atlantic coast, or the Florida Gulf coast later this week," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
The feature, combined with a stalled front in the region, will cause frequent bouts of showers and thunderstorms to erupt across the southeastern U.S. through week's end.
The warm Gulf Stream waters off the coast of Florida could help to give the low pressure area a small chance of becoming a more organized tropical system. The next name on the 2021 list for the Atlantic is Fred should the system strengthen enough to become a tropical storm.
AccuWeather forecasters upped the potential for tropical development off the Southeast coast to medium on Friday morning.
Either way, Miller says that the low is forecast to drift out to sea by early next week.
"Regardless of whether or not the tropical low becomes more organized, it should enhance the rainfall for portions of Florida from Friday through the weekend," Miller explained.
It is not out of the question that some locations could receive three or more inches of rain before the end of the weekend.
SEE Also:
AccuWeather meteorologists say that the more active-than-normal start to the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is partially to blame for the persistent wet conditions across the region.
According to the Nation Hurricane Center (NHC), the average arrival of the fifth named storm of the hurricane season is Aug. 31. This year, the E storm, Hurricane Elsa, was first named on July 1, almost two months earlier than normal.
AccuWeather forecasters are anticipating the active hurricane season to continue well into November. Since Elsa, a plethora of dry air and Saharan dust has kept tropical development at bay.
The rest of the globe has had its share of tropical activity already this week. Tropical Storm Guillermo and Hurricane Felicia, which reached Category 4 strength, both plowed through the East Pacific Ocean earlier this week. In the West Pacific, both In-fa and Cempaka both continue to threaten China with more torrential rainfall.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo