Soaking storm system to bring flood risk to southern Plains at midweek
A budding storm system traveling into the southern Plains will bring crashing temperatures and drenching rain and a threat for a mixture of frozen precipitation midweek.
By
Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Nov 3, 2019 7:00 AM EDT
A budding storm system traveling into the southern Plains will bring crashing temperatures, drenching rain and the threat for a mixture of wintry precipitation at midweek.
The week will start off on a dry and seasonable note for places like Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas, before conditions take a noticeable turn.
An area of low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere tracking out of the Desert Southwest into the southern Plains will act as a driving force for this upcoming system.
As the upper disturbance tracks into Texas, the developing system will draw in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico early in the week.
Along with increasing humidity levels across the southern Plains, temperatures will climb into the 60s and 70s F through Wednesday.
Steady rain, as well as a few thunderstorms, will erupt on Wednesday afternoon across New Mexico and West Texas as the storm system tracks into the region.
Wet weather will continue to expand eastward into places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Springfield, Missouri and Little Rock, Arkansas, on Thursday.
Some areas, especially across central and eastern Oklahoma into southern Missouri and the Ozarks, could have enough rain out of this storm system to send creeks and rivers out of their banks and into flood stage.
Along with the rain, there will be a sharp contrast in temperatures between the northern side of the storm and the southern side.
El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, will begin to feel the effects of this system on Wednesday afternoon.
The storm will continue to strengthen as cold air to the north and warm air to the south collide along the Red River Wednesday night.
As the warm air overrides the cold air below, it is possible some light freezing rain or sleet mixes in along the northern fringes of the storm system.
Places like Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas, will have to keep a close eye on the forecast as some frozen precipitation is possible Wednesday night into Thursday.
It only takes a light glaze of ice on trees and area roadways to cause hazardous conditions. Extra caution is urged anytime freezing rain falls, as conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
Those traveling on interstates 27, 30, 35, 40, 44 should expect delays resulting from the heavy rain.
The storm system will continue to track eastward Thursday into Friday, bringing an end to the wet weather across the southern Plains.
In the wake of the departed system, communities should get a chance to dry out over the weekend as high pressure takes over, promoting cool and settled conditions.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather News
Soaking storm system to bring flood risk to southern Plains at midweek
A budding storm system traveling into the southern Plains will bring crashing temperatures and drenching rain and a threat for a mixture of frozen precipitation midweek.
By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Nov 3, 2019 7:00 AM EDT
A budding storm system traveling into the southern Plains will bring crashing temperatures, drenching rain and the threat for a mixture of wintry precipitation at midweek.
The week will start off on a dry and seasonable note for places like Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas, before conditions take a noticeable turn.
An area of low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere tracking out of the Desert Southwest into the southern Plains will act as a driving force for this upcoming system.
As the upper disturbance tracks into Texas, the developing system will draw in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico early in the week.
Along with increasing humidity levels across the southern Plains, temperatures will climb into the 60s and 70s F through Wednesday.
Steady rain, as well as a few thunderstorms, will erupt on Wednesday afternoon across New Mexico and West Texas as the storm system tracks into the region.
Wet weather will continue to expand eastward into places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Springfield, Missouri and Little Rock, Arkansas, on Thursday.
Some areas, especially across central and eastern Oklahoma into southern Missouri and the Ozarks, could have enough rain out of this storm system to send creeks and rivers out of their banks and into flood stage.
Along with the rain, there will be a sharp contrast in temperatures between the northern side of the storm and the southern side.
El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, will begin to feel the effects of this system on Wednesday afternoon.
The storm will continue to strengthen as cold air to the north and warm air to the south collide along the Red River Wednesday night.
As the warm air overrides the cold air below, it is possible some light freezing rain or sleet mixes in along the northern fringes of the storm system.
Places like Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas, will have to keep a close eye on the forecast as some frozen precipitation is possible Wednesday night into Thursday.
It only takes a light glaze of ice on trees and area roadways to cause hazardous conditions. Extra caution is urged anytime freezing rain falls, as conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
Related:
Those traveling on interstates 27, 30, 35, 40, 44 should expect delays resulting from the heavy rain.
The storm system will continue to track eastward Thursday into Friday, bringing an end to the wet weather across the southern Plains.
In the wake of the departed system, communities should get a chance to dry out over the weekend as high pressure takes over, promoting cool and settled conditions.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo