Downpours bring heightened flood risk, drought relief to southern US
Additional downpours are likely to trigger localized flash flooding into the weekend in a large part of the southern United States, while at the same time helping to reduce drought conditions.
After multiple Waymos got stuck in floodwaters across Atlanta and one was swept away in San Antonio, the company is stopping service in several major cities throughout the South.
Rounds of rain will ease drought conditions while raising the risk of flash flooding across much of the Gulf Coast into the weekend.
A plume of moisture, sometimes called an atmospheric river, focused the heaviest rain from the central Gulf Coast to portions of the Appalachians from Sunday to Tuesday, unleashing localized flash flooding.
This map shows rainfall intensity from Sunday morning to Wednesday morning. Red, orange and yellow areas represent much more rainfall than green zones. (AccuWeather)
A woman drowned Monday in Petal, Mississippi, as her vehicle was swept away into deep waters. Flash flooding occurred in Henderson County, North Carolina, Tuesday. This was part of the region ravaged by Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
Some of the highest rainfall totals from Sunday night through Wednesday night included 6.62 inches in Destin, Florida; 5.51 inches in Greenwood, South Carolina; 5.45 inches in Asheville, North Carolina; 5.00 inches in Florala, Alabama; and 4.18 inches in New Orleans.
The rainfall will generally benefit drought-stricken parts of the south-central and southeastern United States.
Areas in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas experiencing exceptional drought should get more rain thanks to the pattern.
With abundant moisture in place and a stalled front stretching from Texas and Oklahome to the southern Atlantic Coast, pockets of heavy rain and locally severe thunderstorms will develop.
While some of the heaviest rain in the pattern has already fallen in some areas, additional torrential downpours are likely within clusters of showers and thunderstorms, with a couple of inches of rain possible in just a few hours.
Rainfall at that rate can quickly trigger flash flooding in urban areas, along small streams and in poor-drainage locations, regardless of existing soil moisture conditions.
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Later this weekend and into early next week, a push of dry air may reach parts of the Gulf Coast. Moisture could surge northward again across the Southeast as June progresses, potentially aided by a tropical rainstorm that could become the season’s first named storm if atmospheric conditions become favorable.
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