Nice Thursday, Storm Threat Returns on Friday

Wednesday Night Forecast Update for March 29th:

Temperatures will be a bit chilly again tonight falling down to the upper 30s. Mostly sunny skies and warmer weather is expected Thursday. Storms and severe weather looks likely Friday evening across West Tennessee. This could be a very dangerous system for us so please stay weather aware. We will have the latest details on the storm threat and have a full report of the storm surveys completed today by the NWS across our area right here.

NWS: CONFIRMS TORNADO AND STRAIGHT LINE WINDS FROM LAST FRIDAY:

The National Weather Service wrapped up their tornado survey damage on Monday in Mississippi from Friday night and made their way into West Tennessee Tuesday. They confirmed an EF-1 Tornado in Haywood County (near Hillville).

They also discovered straight line winds up to 85 MPH in Carroll County in southwestern Huntingdon and more straight line winds damage in Bruceton. 85 MPH winds is a borderline EF1 Tornado wind speeds.

TONIGHT:

Some morning frost welcomes us Wednesday morning but we did make it into the low 60s. The winds will be calm at times into the evening making for an overall pleasant night. Wednesday night lows will be cool and and fall down to the upper 30s but it should be just a little to warm for frost to be an issue into Thursday morning.

THURSDAY:

Thursday will start out a bit chilly with morning lows starting in the upper 30s. A nice warm up will continue into the afternoon when highs could make it up to around 70°. Mostly sunny skies are again expected on Thursday and and the winds will start to come out of the southeast as a warm front will begin to lift through the Mid South. Thursday night the humidity will increase under the warm front and overnight lows will only fall down to the mid to upper 50s.

FRIDAY:

The next chance for storm activity and possible severe weather will be here on Friday. The showers and storm activity early in the day will not be severe but after the sun goes down, some bigger storms are expected to move through. The storm prediction center already has a large area of West Tennessee under an enhanced risk (3/5) and an upgrade to a 4 seems more likely than not as of now.

The greatest threat being along the Mississippi River and the least concerning area as of now appears to be along the Tennessee River. But all of West Tennessee will likely see storms activity Friday evening/night. Highs on Friday will reach the low to mid 70s depending on if we get shower activity early in the day or not.

The winds will be breezy and come out of south all day before changing to the northwest behind the front by sunrise Saturday. Friday night lows will fall down to the low to mid 50s. Please stay weather aware late Friday as some powerful storms will be likely with this system. We could see a widespread 1-2″ of rain with some locations getting up to 3″ before the storms clear out Friday night.

THE WEEKEND:

Just like the previous weekend we are expecting mostly sunny skies. Saturday will start out in the low to mid 50s and warm up to the mid 60s in the afternoon. Just like last weekend, Sunday will be a bit warmer with highs making it back up to around 70°.  Sunday morning will be a bit chilly behind the front and temperatures will drop down to around 40°. Sunday night the winds will be back out of the southeast keeping us warm with next Monday morning lows will be in the mid 50s again.

NEXT WEEK:

We are expecting an above normal temperature most of next week with highs in the mid 70s on Monday, low 80s on Tuesday and mid 70s again on Wednesday. We have not hit 80° this year in Jackson, but we could on Tuesday. More rain showers and storms are also expected off and on next week including some chances for some severe weather… we are getting into that time of the year unfortunately. The winds will be out of the south the start the week and overnight lows will fall to the mid 60s in the mornings.

FINAL THOUGHT:

After a very warm month of February, March started out to be the exact opposite and being below normal. The next chance for rain and storms is coming on Friday night, no winter storms are currently in the forecast but we will likely see some frost tonight. There is a 50/50 chance this will be our last freeze chance of the Spring.  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