Rain Showers Lingering Tonight Across West Tennessee
Wednesday Night Forecast Update
Wednesday Night Forecast Update for February 22nd:
We are not expecting severe weather or even any thunderstorms tonight but the rain showers will continue to linger and come up from the southwest tonight as the surface front is beginning to stall out. We should get a break for the rain for most of the day Thursday before rain chances return for Friday and Saturday. Catch the latest forecast information and a full report right here.
SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK:
This week is severe weather awareness week in Tennessee, Monday was FLOOD safety! Tuesday was Lightning Safety and Wednesday is Tornado Safety. Are you familiar with tornado terminology? During severe weather, we will issue tornado watches, warnings, and occasionally a tornado emergency. Now is the time to read and understand the difference between these so you and your family stay safe. Do you know where your safe place from tornadoes is? Ideal shelter is located underground, but a safe alternative is an interior room with no windows. Locate your safe space now before tornadoes strike. Do you know what to do if you are caught on the road during a tornado warning? If possible, move into a secure building and NEVER take shelter under an overpass.
TONIGHT:
We set high temperature records on Wednesday across the Mid South including here in Jackson. The record is 73° set back in 2000 and we hit 77-78° for most of West Tennessee today. The warm weather ushered in an afternoon and evening storm threat across West Tennessee. It will remain quite breezy at times tonight until the surface front passes and expect weaker winds after the sun goes down for most of us. Wednesday night lows will remain warm and only fall to the mid 60s. The winds. Clouds will decrease a bit overnight but mostly cloudy skies are still expected.
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
