Rounds of drenching storms to produce flash flood risk in southern US
By
Nicole LoBiondo, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Jul 19, 2021 7:28 AM EDT
Thunderstorms that began in the Midwest on July 16 made their way east, bringing heavy rain and stunning flashes of lightning to some areas.
As many residents in the northeastern United States have experienced round after round of soaking storms over the past several days, the threat for drenching downpours will shift farther south into the Southeast and southern Plains this week.
Several locations across the South have already picked up their fair share of rainfall since June 1, leaving them waterlogged. New Orleans reported over 18 inches of rain since June 1, which is 156% of the normal rainfall for this time period. With more rain on the horizon, many cities in the South should remain on alert for the continued threat of localized flash flooding.
Daily, widespread shower and thunderstorm activity will set up across the lower Mississippi Valley into the Southeast through at least the middle of the week.
"These storms will be drenching at times as they will have moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to work with, leading to a local flash flooding threat," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys explained.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A frontal boundary, known as a stationary front, will extend from northern Texas to the Carolinas, allowing for drenching thunderstorms to erupt due to a surge of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. The frontal boundary will remain idle through at least the middle to latter portion of the week.
Coupled with stubborn high pressure that will bake the Rockies and High Plains this week, this will cause a pause in the normal west-to-east progression of storms. Potent areas of high pressure such as this can essentially act as a roadblock in the atmosphere, resulting in a seemingly never-ending stormy pattern in the South.
Storms that erupt across the Southern states this week are likely to be slow-moving in nature. Flooding and persistent downpours over the south-central and southeastern portions of the United States could bring a general 3-6 inches of rainfall with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches from Monday through Thursday.
AccuWeather meteorologists warn that when heavy downpours persist over the same area, flooding in farm fields that could lead to crop damage is possible along with ponding on roadways.
Experts highly suggest that travelers never attempt to drive through flooded areas on roadways because cars could stall or be swept away by flood waters, resulting in a potentially deadly situation.
"Anyone planning on traveling this week between interstates 10 and 20 should use caution and pay attention to the forecast," Roys warned.
Areas south of I-20 have truly been in the bulls-eye of above average rainfall since the start of meteorological summer. In addition to New Orleans, cities like Houston; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee; and Little Rock, Arkansas, are also waterlogged.
For example, Houston has received over a foot of rain since June 1, where normally the Space City only picks up over 8 inches. Another city that has seen drenching rainfall is Little Rock, Arkansas, where over 9 inches of rain has fallen since June 1, while the city normally only sees over 5 inches of rain in that time.
Even areas that have been spared from the most significant rainfall in past month could experience growing flooding concerns as the rain is expected to come down at a fast pace.
"Portions of the South have largely been saturated for much of the year as they have seen 75-200 percent of normal rainfall. Given the higher threat for drenching thunderstorms this week, the risk for local flash flooding is elevated, especially along the I-10 corridor," Roys emphasized.
While storms will bring the threat for flash flooding through much of this week to the South, residents should remain on alert for locally severe thunderstorms to erupt. As these storms are expected to be slow-moving in nature, the threat for damaging wind gusts is low, but with any thunderstorm, there is the chance for isolated gusty winds and even some small hail.
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 / Weather Forecasts
Rounds of drenching storms to produce flash flood risk in southern US
By Nicole LoBiondo, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Jul 19, 2021 7:28 AM EDT
Thunderstorms that began in the Midwest on July 16 made their way east, bringing heavy rain and stunning flashes of lightning to some areas.
As many residents in the northeastern United States have experienced round after round of soaking storms over the past several days, the threat for drenching downpours will shift farther south into the Southeast and southern Plains this week.
Several locations across the South have already picked up their fair share of rainfall since June 1, leaving them waterlogged. New Orleans reported over 18 inches of rain since June 1, which is 156% of the normal rainfall for this time period. With more rain on the horizon, many cities in the South should remain on alert for the continued threat of localized flash flooding.
Daily, widespread shower and thunderstorm activity will set up across the lower Mississippi Valley into the Southeast through at least the middle of the week.
"These storms will be drenching at times as they will have moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to work with, leading to a local flash flooding threat," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys explained.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A frontal boundary, known as a stationary front, will extend from northern Texas to the Carolinas, allowing for drenching thunderstorms to erupt due to a surge of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. The frontal boundary will remain idle through at least the middle to latter portion of the week.
Coupled with stubborn high pressure that will bake the Rockies and High Plains this week, this will cause a pause in the normal west-to-east progression of storms. Potent areas of high pressure such as this can essentially act as a roadblock in the atmosphere, resulting in a seemingly never-ending stormy pattern in the South.
Storms that erupt across the Southern states this week are likely to be slow-moving in nature. Flooding and persistent downpours over the south-central and southeastern portions of the United States could bring a general 3-6 inches of rainfall with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches from Monday through Thursday.
AccuWeather meteorologists warn that when heavy downpours persist over the same area, flooding in farm fields that could lead to crop damage is possible along with ponding on roadways.
Experts highly suggest that travelers never attempt to drive through flooded areas on roadways because cars could stall or be swept away by flood waters, resulting in a potentially deadly situation.
"Anyone planning on traveling this week between interstates 10 and 20 should use caution and pay attention to the forecast," Roys warned.
Areas south of I-20 have truly been in the bulls-eye of above average rainfall since the start of meteorological summer. In addition to New Orleans, cities like Houston; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee; and Little Rock, Arkansas, are also waterlogged.
For example, Houston has received over a foot of rain since June 1, where normally the Space City only picks up over 8 inches. Another city that has seen drenching rainfall is Little Rock, Arkansas, where over 9 inches of rain has fallen since June 1, while the city normally only sees over 5 inches of rain in that time.
Even areas that have been spared from the most significant rainfall in past month could experience growing flooding concerns as the rain is expected to come down at a fast pace.
"Portions of the South have largely been saturated for much of the year as they have seen 75-200 percent of normal rainfall. Given the higher threat for drenching thunderstorms this week, the risk for local flash flooding is elevated, especially along the I-10 corridor," Roys emphasized.
While storms will bring the threat for flash flooding through much of this week to the South, residents should remain on alert for locally severe thunderstorms to erupt. As these storms are expected to be slow-moving in nature, the threat for damaging wind gusts is low, but with any thunderstorm, there is the chance for isolated gusty winds and even some small hail.
Related:
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