TORNADO Threat is HIGH Across the Mid South This Evening

Friday Evening Forecast Update

March 31, 2023

Storm Team Weather,

Friday Evening Forecast Update for March 31st:

May be an image of map, sky and text that says 'STORMTRACKER MAXRADAR 2:59PM PM Poplar Bluff Paducan Garrett Bow UMAINGCHEATINO 731-668-3339 Jon sboro Jackson Little Rock Memphis Pine Bluff CONFIRMED TORNADO WENT THROUGH LITTLE ROCK & IS HEADING TOWARD WEST TN!'

It has been over a decade since sections of West Tennessee have been put under a high risk (5/5) for tornadoes. The last PDS Tornado Watch was in 2015. Please stay inside this evening and stay weather aware, pay attention to these storms. They will cross the Mississippi around 5pm and move to the east. They could be deadly if you are caught off guard or not prepared.

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv. com PDS TORNADO WATCH UNTIL PM CT PARTICULARY DANGEROUS SITUATION Ridgely Union Cily Martin Paris Dyersburg Trenton Ripley Camden Huntingdon Alamo Brownsville Jackson Covington Lexington Parsons Henderson Memphis Somerville Bolivar Selmer Savannah'

A confirmed tornado just west through Little Rock in Arkansas and that storm is heading our way. The tornadic storms will impact West Tennessee between 5-10pm. We will be watching things closely all evening in the WBBJ 7 Storm Team Weather Center.

May be an image of text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com SEVERE WEATHER RISK FRIDAY LEVEL1 MARGINAL LEVEL 2 SLIGHT LEVEL3 ENHANCED LEVEL4 MODERATE LEVEL5 HIGH NUMEROUS SCATTERED SHORT-LIVED SHORT-LIVED VIDESPREAD PERSISTENT WIDESPREAD Martin LONG-LIVED ISOLATED INTENSITY LONG-LIVED FEW INTENSE Dyersburg INTENSE ERY TENSE FEW SEVERE STORMS Milan Camden STRONG TORNADOES TORNADO OUTBREAK FEW TORNADOES WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT SEVERAL WIND DAMAGE STRONG REPORTSO LOWTORNADO WINDS WIND WIND DAVAGE LARGEHAIL DAMAGE Jackson Parsons DAMAGE Memphis Bolivar Savannah'

A significant storm threat will impact West Tennessee Friday evening between 5PM and 1AM Friday night. All severe weather modes including large, long tracked tornadoes will be possible. We recommend you stay inside Friday night and monitor the potential life threatening storms. All areas in West Jackson to the Mississippi River are under at least a moderate (4/5) and a high risk is out for areas southwest of Jackson. Severe weather threat for tornadoes and extreme straight line winds is HIGH tonight. We will have a full weather report and all the latest information on the storm threat coming up here.

May be an image of map, sky and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv com THE NEXT 48 HOURS Friday 5:20 PM Kansas City St. Louis WARM AM Louisville Charleston Tulsa Jackson Little Rock Dallas Raleigh suvnvull Knoxville HUMID SUPERCELL LARGE ROTATING THUNDERSTORMS LIKE THE ONES mingha THAT HIT MISSISSIPPI LAST FRIDAY COULD DEVELOP IN WEST TN THIS FRIDAY EVENING!'

For tips on preparing for the storms, click here.

TONIGHT:

Severe storms are coming this evening and tornadic activity looks likely. The showers and storm activity early in the day will not be severe but by 5pm, some bigger storms are expected to move through.

May be an image of map, sky and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv. com STORM TEAM 7 WEATHER FUTURECAST FRI 6:30 PM HAIN MIXED SNOW nion Ciliy STORMS WILL CROSS THE Mariin MS. RIVER AROUND 5PM AND MOVE OUR WAY Paris Trenton Camden Huntingdon lamo ackson Covington Brownsville Lexington Parsons Henderson Memphis Somerville Bolivar Selmer Savauah'

The greatest threat starts west of the Mississippi River and the storms will move to the east across West Tennessee. The least concerning area as of now appears to be along the Tennessee River and heading towards Nashville but all of our viewing area will be impacted by the these storms late Friday. Highs on Friday will reach the mid 70s into the evening before the main event shows up after 5pm.

May be an image of text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com OVERALL KISK SEVERE SEVERE WEATHER RISK FRIDAY EVENING/ NIGHT LOW Martin MODERATE HIGH Dyersburg TORNADOES HIGH Milan Camden LARGE HAIL >1.0 INCH Jackson Parsons WINDS 70 MPH Memphis Bolivar Savannah FLOODING LOW'

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. Saturday is going to be windy with the winds coming out of the northwest. A wind advisory could be issued.

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