Severe thunderstorms, heavy rain hit waterlogged South before drier pattern takes over
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 11, 2020 6:01 PM EDT
Communities in Mississippi already dealing with flooded roads were dreading another line of storms that would roll through later in the afternoon of Feb. 12.
One more round of heavy rain drenched parts of the saturated South and aggravated flooding before a sweep of drier and colder air provides a break from wet weather to end the week.
Enough rain fell through Wednesday night to once again aggravate flash and urban flooding and cause an additional rise on some of the rivers. Flood advisories, watches and warnings are in effect for parts of the southern United States.
This graphic shows current flash flood watches (olive green), flood watches (dark green) and flood warnings (bright green) across the southern U.S. as of 2 p.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (NOAA/AccuWeather)
The same storm system renewed the risk of severe weather in part of the region.
A severe thunderstorm significantly damaged a home on Wednesday evening near Lexington, Alabama, where there was a measured wind gust of 76 mph at that time.
A large tree was also reported down on a main road in Athens, Alabama.
Large portions of the South have been drowning in rainfall this winter.
"Some locations from central Mississippi to central and northern Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina, western and central North Carolina and southwestern Virginia have received twice their average rainfall in 2020," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
In some cases, this same magnitude of above-average rainfall extends into late autumn of 2019. For example, since Dec. 1, 2019, Jackson, Mississippi, has received 22 inches of rain with nearly 21 inches in Birmingham, Alabama, and 18 inches in Columbia, South Carolina.
Saturated ground and heavy rainfall in Warren County, Mississippi led to roadway loss on U.S. Highway 80 at Mount Alban Road, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Emergency personnel closed the highway in both directions Tuesday.
Roadway loss due to recent heavy rainfall in Warren County, Mississippi. Twitter/Mississippi Department of Transportation
Due to the combination of the ground being saturated and low evaporation rates during the wintertime, much of the rain that has been falling in recent days has been immediately running off into streams and rivers.
In some cases, a mere 0.25 of an inch of rain in an hour can be enough to trigger rapid flooding of small streams, according to National Weather Service hydrologists.
This image shows how much rain is needed to trigger flash flooding as of Tuesday morning, Feb. 11, 2020. (NOAA / Flash Flood Guidance)
"A second dose of drenching rain will follow in the footsteps of rain that soaked parts of the South from Monday to early Tuesday," LoBiondo stated.
A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast from the storm from Louisiana to the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 5 inches. Rainfall in parts of this swath can exceed the hourly threshold of 0.25 of an inch. Tyler, Texas, received 4.77 inches of rain from the storm in about 36 hours.
According to the Tennessee Valley Authority, rainfall in the Tennessee Valley is more than 400% above normal for the year so far.
A highway was closed after a rockslide in East Tennessee between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on Tuesday, according to WATE.
“River flows and lake levels are elevated at most tributaries and along the main river and will continue rising with this week’s additional rainfall,” James Everett, senior manager at the TVA River Forecast Center said in a statement.
Spanning Thursday to Friday, a push of colder air will mark an end to the train of rainstorms for the South. Temperatures will be slashed by an average of 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Forecasters say that although the core of this Arctic air will remain over the Midwest and Northeast, it will still slash temperatures into the southeastern U.S. Some areas west of the Appalachians, such as Nashville, Tennessee, may have their lowest temperatures of the season so far.
The dry pattern will have much more impact on flooding concerns as a four- to six-day stretch of dry weather soon arrives in the region.
This extended period of dry weather will allow streams to recede. Flooding along some of the larger rivers will take more time to cycle through the flooding process.
The storm from last week was the main catalyst in terms of high water along the river system in the region. Some rivers are forecast to crest even as the latest rainstorm moves through the region. Other rivers may not crest until late next week or in late February due in part to the additional rain this week. This is because the major rivers in the lowlands of the South take many days to respond to flooding after a heavy rain event.
To some extent, officials can mitigate the flow of water along the rivers where there are dams in operation. Such is the case in the Tennessee Valley.
Even after the spell of dry weather that moves in to end the week, the region may still be somewhat prone to flooding due to the high water table and the ongoing potential for occasional rainstorms.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Severe thunderstorms, heavy rain hit waterlogged South before drier pattern takes over
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 11, 2020 6:01 PM EDT
Communities in Mississippi already dealing with flooded roads were dreading another line of storms that would roll through later in the afternoon of Feb. 12.
One more round of heavy rain drenched parts of the saturated South and aggravated flooding before a sweep of drier and colder air provides a break from wet weather to end the week.
Enough rain fell through Wednesday night to once again aggravate flash and urban flooding and cause an additional rise on some of the rivers. Flood advisories, watches and warnings are in effect for parts of the southern United States.
This graphic shows current flash flood watches (olive green), flood watches (dark green) and flood warnings (bright green) across the southern U.S. as of 2 p.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (NOAA/AccuWeather)
The same storm system renewed the risk of severe weather in part of the region.
A severe thunderstorm significantly damaged a home on Wednesday evening near Lexington, Alabama, where there was a measured wind gust of 76 mph at that time.
A large tree was also reported down on a main road in Athens, Alabama.
Large portions of the South have been drowning in rainfall this winter.
"Some locations from central Mississippi to central and northern Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, northern Georgia, upstate South Carolina, western and central North Carolina and southwestern Virginia have received twice their average rainfall in 2020," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
In some cases, this same magnitude of above-average rainfall extends into late autumn of 2019. For example, since Dec. 1, 2019, Jackson, Mississippi, has received 22 inches of rain with nearly 21 inches in Birmingham, Alabama, and 18 inches in Columbia, South Carolina.
Saturated ground and heavy rainfall in Warren County, Mississippi led to roadway loss on U.S. Highway 80 at Mount Alban Road, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Emergency personnel closed the highway in both directions Tuesday.
Roadway loss due to recent heavy rainfall in Warren County, Mississippi. Twitter/Mississippi Department of Transportation
Due to the combination of the ground being saturated and low evaporation rates during the wintertime, much of the rain that has been falling in recent days has been immediately running off into streams and rivers.
In some cases, a mere 0.25 of an inch of rain in an hour can be enough to trigger rapid flooding of small streams, according to National Weather Service hydrologists.
This image shows how much rain is needed to trigger flash flooding as of Tuesday morning, Feb. 11, 2020. (NOAA / Flash Flood Guidance)
"A second dose of drenching rain will follow in the footsteps of rain that soaked parts of the South from Monday to early Tuesday," LoBiondo stated.
A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast from the storm from Louisiana to the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 5 inches. Rainfall in parts of this swath can exceed the hourly threshold of 0.25 of an inch. Tyler, Texas, received 4.77 inches of rain from the storm in about 36 hours.
According to the Tennessee Valley Authority, rainfall in the Tennessee Valley is more than 400% above normal for the year so far.
A highway was closed after a rockslide in East Tennessee between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on Tuesday, according to WATE.
“River flows and lake levels are elevated at most tributaries and along the main river and will continue rising with this week’s additional rainfall,” James Everett, senior manager at the TVA River Forecast Center said in a statement.
Spanning Thursday to Friday, a push of colder air will mark an end to the train of rainstorms for the South. Temperatures will be slashed by an average of 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Forecasters say that although the core of this Arctic air will remain over the Midwest and Northeast, it will still slash temperatures into the southeastern U.S. Some areas west of the Appalachians, such as Nashville, Tennessee, may have their lowest temperatures of the season so far.
The dry pattern will have much more impact on flooding concerns as a four- to six-day stretch of dry weather soon arrives in the region.
Related:
This extended period of dry weather will allow streams to recede. Flooding along some of the larger rivers will take more time to cycle through the flooding process.
The storm from last week was the main catalyst in terms of high water along the river system in the region. Some rivers are forecast to crest even as the latest rainstorm moves through the region. Other rivers may not crest until late next week or in late February due in part to the additional rain this week. This is because the major rivers in the lowlands of the South take many days to respond to flooding after a heavy rain event.
To some extent, officials can mitigate the flow of water along the rivers where there are dams in operation. Such is the case in the Tennessee Valley.
Even after the spell of dry weather that moves in to end the week, the region may still be somewhat prone to flooding due to the high water table and the ongoing potential for occasional rainstorms.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo