Late-week storm preview for the South

It’s a quiet start to the workweek across the lower and mid-Mississippi valleys, but later this week a storm system will be bringing yet another soggy bout to a drought-stricken South.

Rain in the forecast is welcome to those across the southern U.S. dealing with as much as extreme and exceptional drought, but too much at once will have residents monitoring local flood forecasts.

Later this week, starting Thursday, a disturbance moving across the mid-south and a low pressure moving out of the Gulf of Mexico will combine forces to bring wet weather across the southern tier with the heaviest rainfall focusing on the lower and mid-Mississippi valleys.

It is still a little early to talk about rainfall amounts, but the National Weather Service has issued a marginal risk – a level one out of four – for excessive rainfall on both Thursday and Friday, highlighting that the heavy rains could cause isolated flooding in some areas.

Drought plays a large part in this potential flooding event as the parched ground will have a hard time soaking water in quickly, leading to runoff, puddling, and then flooding.

Places like Houston, Texas, New Orleans, La., Jackson, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark., as well as St. Louis, Mo., are all within the marginal risk on Thursday.

As this storm system gets access to further instability, thunderstorms will be tangled within the blob of rain you’ll see on the WeatherRadar. Higher rain rates and therefore higher rain totals could accompany these thunderstorms, not to mention possible gusty winds on top of it.

By Friday, the rain reaches much of the Midwest, Tennessee Valley, and much of the East Coast, but the marginal risk for excessive rainfall stays in place across the central Gulf Coast due to the recent rainfall and the drought, raising more chances for flash flooding.

We’ve got a few days to prepare for this rainfall event. Make sure you have at least three ways to receive a weather warning. Remember that driving through flooded roadways is dangerous as the road may not even be there under the water anymore.

Monitor the WeatherRadar if you have holiday preparation plans or need to head out for your commutes, as you might want to add a few minutes to your travel time.