Rain Moves Out this Evening, Long Dry Spell Could be Coming!
Thursday Night Forecast Update
Thursday Night Forecast Update for April 6th:
The front stalled out about 50 miles further north than we had anticipated which kept the rain around longer this afternoon north of I-40. The highest rain totals were still south of I-40. We might finally be breaking out of this rainy and severe weather pattern the Mid South has been stuck in for weeks. An upper level pattern shift could lead to the first extended dry spell across West Tennessee in several weeks. There will be a few showers south of Jackson tonight, but after that, not much is in the forecast. We will have that great news, as well as a detailed recap of Friday’s tornado outbreak (6 confirmed) in West Tennessee coming up here.
MARCH 31/APRIL 1ST CONFIRMED TORNADO DETAILS:
NEW DETAILS: The National Weather Service in Memphis has confirmed 4 STRONG tornadoes in West Tennessee from Friday evening/night and 2 weak EF-0 tornadoes (Carroll/Benton counties). An EF3 though Tipton/Haywood Counties, An EF3 through Hardeman, McNairy and Hardin counties, another EF2 through McNairy county and another EF2 through Hardeman county.
TONIGHT:
Thursday was cooler behind Wednesday nights cold front. Highs on Thursday only reached the 50s and Thursday night will be a cool again with lows back down in the mid 40s. We will stay out of the 30s and have probably seen our last freeze this Spring. The winds came out of the northeast all day long and wil stay that way for a couple days. A few lingering showers could continue along the Mississippi State border tonight but most of us will stay dry after sunset. The clouds will linger all night and stick around into the weekend.
FRIDAY:
Friday looks to be a little warmer than Thursday with highs reaching the upper 50s or low 60s. We are still expecting mostly dry conditions on Friday but a few showers could pop up as the front pushes back across West Tennessee. Heavy rain or storms is not expected but a few light showers could pop up. The winds will continue to come out of the northeast keeping the temperature down some. Friday night lows will fall down to the upper 40s. The winds could shift back to the east or southeast as we get going into the upcoming weekend. Mostly cloudy skies are expected for most of the day but some occasional sun will peak through so some of us.
THE WEEKEND:
The weekend looks mostly dry as of now and although a shower or two cannot be ruled out on Saturday (10% chance at best), we are not expecting any storm activity or anything of concern for Easter Weekend. Highs on Saturday will be in the low to mid 60s and Easter Sunday highs will reach the upper 60s. We are expecting the winds to come out of the northeast most of the day Saturday and back to the east on Sunday. Both weekend morning we should start out around 50°. Sunday night lows will fall in the low 50s as we head into Monday morning. Skies will remain mostly cloudy over the weekend although there will be the occasional peaks of sunshine both days. The best chance for some sunshine will be on Easter Sunday into the afternoon and evening hours.
NEXT WEEK:
Warmer and dry weather will be returning as we get going into next week across West Tennessee. Highs will reach around 70° on Monday, low 70s on Tuesday and mid 70s on Wednesday. Overnight lows will still linger around 50°. The winds will start out of the east on Monday but transition to the southeast during the middle of the week leading to a nice warm up and Spring like weather. We are not expecting any rain or storm activity in the beginning and the middle of the week as well. We could be looking at a decent dry spell for the first time in awhile across the Mid South. There is a low pressure system worth watching next week in the Gulf of Mexico that could drift far enough to the north to bring rain to West Tennessee next Thursday but confidence in that system impacting us looks quite low as of now.
FINAL THOUGHT:
March started out chilly but the humidity and warmer weather returned by the end of month leading to a regional tornado outbreak March 31st. The next chance for rain and storms could be several days out, no winter storms are currently in the forecast and we have likely seen our last freeze 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
