Spring storminess to bookend the week along the Gulf, Southeast coasts
A break from shower and thunderstorm activity will be fleeting in the South this week, as AccuWeather meteorologists are tracking another storm that can bring heavy rain late in the week.
Texas was spared from the tornadoes that struck the Midwest on March 14, but storms still hit the state with pounding hail and drenching rain from Thursday to Friday.
Stormy conditions both started and will end the week across portions of the Southeast and East coasts, interrupting outdoor plans as spring officially gets underway, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
Following a wet start to the week, a multiday break from showers and storms is expected, allowing spring breakers and snowbirds to salvage some time in the sun, albeit amid cooler air. However, the wet weather can return to close out the week as another storm lurks in the region.
Spectators exit the course as heavy rain delays the final round of the Cognizant Classic golf tournament, Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Severe storm threat started the week in Florida
After soaking the northern Gulf Coast region to end the weekend on Sunday, the first storm system and its associated front started the workweek off on a stormy note in a portion of the Sunshine State.
"A potent cold front crossed the Florida Peninsula into Monday night, sparking the development of gusty and locally severe thunderstorms," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Glenny.
Following this system, cool high pressure will build in from the north, promoting a return of sunshine and dry weather, as well as cooler weather for a few days through midweek. Across the interior South, one of the season's last widespread frost and freeze events can occur Tuesday morning, threatening recently budding flowers and vegetation.
Another round of soaking storms possible later in the week
The dry, nice weather will not last long, as AccuWeather meteorologists will be watching for yet another storm to bring wet weather to the South later in the week.
"We are monitoring the pattern along the Gulf coast states and even up the East Coast later this week and into the upcoming weekend," said Glenny. "Depending on how the storm evolves, another chance for torrential downpours and damaging thunderstorms can arise."
Similar to the first storm, the next one will originate in the southern Plains, first bringing a risk of heavy rain and some feisty thunderstorms to Texas and Oklahoma as early as late Wednesday. By Thursday, the wet weather will coalesce and expand east toward the Gulf Coast and Southeast, but its ultimate trajectory is uncertain.
The same area of high pressure supplying the dry, cooler weather farther north for the balance of the week may end up being strong enough to squash the storminess to the south, keeping any heavy rain over the Gulf of Mexico before it moves into Florida toward next weekend. A weaker zone of high pressure would bring the potential for flooding and gusty storms farther north also into parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Carolinas.
Regardless of the final path of the storm, residents and visitors alike in places such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, New Orleans and Tampa should factor in the chance for downpours and strong storms into their plans for the late-week period.
By the weekend, the storm could end up impacting millions more if it takes a turn up the East Coast, a scenario which would spread heavy rain and gusty winds up the Interstate 95 corridor for the first weekend of spring. That setup would fit with the overall weather pattern that has been forecast by AccuWeather's team of long-range forecasters for the end of March.
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