Warm & Windy Wednesday, Few PM Storms Possible
Tuesday Night Forecast Update
Tuesday Night Forecast Update for February 21st:
Warm weather will be sticking around until Thursday afternoon. The winds will kick up tonight and be quite gusty all day Wednesday. Afternoon showers and a few evening storms will be possible but our overall severe weather risk looks very low on Wednesday, the record is 73°, we should smash that. Cooler weather is on the way for Friday and more rain looks to return this weekend. We will have all your forecast details and information coming up right here.
SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK:
This week is severe weather awareness week in Tennessee, Monday was FLOOD safety! Tuesday is Lightning Safety! Make sure you know when and where to take shelter from lightning strikes. It is important to remain vigilant whilst doing outdoor activities. Outdoor activities greatly increase your chances of being struck by lightning during inclement weather. If you see a lightning strike, immediately go indoors and wait until 30 minutes after the storm has passed to resume activities. If you see a lightning strike, immediately go indoors and wait until 30 minutes after the storm has passed to resume activities. If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you’ll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.
TONIGHT:
Tuesday saw that front pushed back up to the north of high pressure around the Gulf of Mexico will brought southerly winds back. This warmed temperatures back up to the mid to upper 60s. Skies will remain mostly cloudy tonight and although a quick shower or two cannot be ruled out, most of us will not see anything falling from the sky tonight. Tuesday night lows will be warm due to the increase in our dew point and only fall to the low 60s.
WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday we are going to set some record highs across the Mid South including here in Jackson. The record is 73° set back in 2000 and we are expected temperatures to be close to 80° into the afternoon. The warm weather will usher in a late storm threat across West Tennessee.
We are not expecting widespread severe weather but as of now, but some rain showers and a few weak storms looks possible in the afternoon and evening hours.
Wednesday night lows will remain warm and only fall to the mid 60s. The winds will stay out of the southwest and be quite windy most of the day. Expect gusts to get near 40 MPH at times in the afternoon and evening hours. A wind advisory was issued by the NWS for 6AM-6PM Wednesday.
THURSDAY:
Thursday will start out warm but the cold front is expected to pass by sometime late into the afternoon or early evening hours dropping the temperatures. We should reach the mid 70s though before the front passes. We will not be setting the high temperature record on Thursday as it is 81°. We should be dry most of the day on Thursday and expect partly cloudy skies. As the front passes we cannot rule out a brief shower but I wouldn’t count on seeing much. Thursday night lows will fall to the upper 30s behind the front. The winds will change from the west to the northeast during the evening and will be quite breezy most of the day.
FRIDAY:
Friday highs will reach up around 50° and Friday night lows will fall to the mid 40s. We are expecting another disturbance to show up on Friday but depending on what side of the frontal boundary we are on will determine how warm temperatures are going to be. There is a chance we could be warmer or cooler than 50° depending on where the late system shows up. Rain showers are expected to return regardless of where the system sets up as both case scenarios will bring rain to West Tennessee. The winds as of now are forecast to be out of the northeast and be light most of the day.
THE WEEKEND:
The weekend as of now looks like it is going to start out quite rainy. Rain showers are likely on Saturday but should clear out sometime during the morning on Sunday. Highs on Saturday will reach the mid 50s and like the previous few weekends, Sunday will be warmer than Saturday with highs reaching the mid 60s. The winds will come out of the northwest on Saturday and shift to the west or southwest by Sunday afternoon. Lows this weekend are forecast to fall down near the mid 50s both nights.
FINAL THOUGHT:
After the coldest Christmas in decades here in West Tennessee, warmer weather returned for the start of the new year, and has stayed above normal most of the month of February. The next chance for rain and storms is coming in the middle of next week, no winter storms are currently in the forecast but in will be a little cooler on Friday and again to start this weekend. You need to stay weather aware to changing weather patterns and monitor the forecasts closely. We got you covered in the WBBJ 7 Storm Team Weather Center as always.
For tips on preparing for the storms, click here. To download the WBBJ 7 Weather app, click here.
Storm Team Chief Meteorologist
Joel Barnes
Facebook: @JoelBarnesWeather
Twitter: @JoelBarnes13
Instagram: @joelbarnes13
