Mississippi Valley - Major flooding, tornado threat underway

Another wave of potent storm energy is coming together on Friday bringing the threat for severe weather and very heavy rains along the same path.

The Tennessee Valley, hit hard by tornadoes and flooding on Wednesday night and Thursday, will have a break on Friday before more heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday add to the 6 inch rain totals. As many were waking up and getting to work cleaning debris from the deadly tornadoes Thursday, heavy rains and flash flooding slowed the process. In the Nashville suburbs, floodwaters led to water rescues and submerged vehicles.

Heavy rainfall of 3 to 6 inches, with more locally, is expected across the Arklatex through southeast Missouri by early Saturday morning, on top of already existing totals between 2 and 6 inches.

Before the event is over, rainfall totals could rise between 10 and 12 inches by early Sunday morning, when the WeatherRadar shows the storm system finally shifting east. A high risk for excessive rainfall is in place on Friday, a rare forecast saved for the most extreme rain events.

On top of this is the next round of severe storms, especially for Longview, Texas, Little Rock, Ark., and Poplar Bluff, Mo., where a moderate risk, a level 4 out of 5 on the severity scale, exists today. A few intense, long-track tornadoes are possible here today less than 48 hours after a tornado emergency in Lake City, Ark.

Have at least three ways to receive weather warnings and remember to never drive through a flooded roadway because the road may no longer be under the water.