Record Highs To Kick Off the Week, Storms Tuesday Night, Cooler Late Week

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update

February 26, 2024

Joel Barnes,

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:

Monday was the warmest day in over 100 days and we set a record high of 77° in Jackson. A wind advisory has been issued on Tuesday and some non severe storms look likely between 2-7AM Wednesday morning in West Tennessee. Catch all the details and full weather report coming up right here.

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK:

MONDAY IS FLOOD SAFETY.

Beginning Sunday, February 26th, the National Weather Service offices that serve Tennessee will be conducting Severe Weather Awareness Week 2024. Today’s topic is flood safety and flooding could be a major issue this week across West Tennessee.

May be an image of body of water and text

Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable.

May be an image of body of water and text that says 'FLOOD WATCH A Flood Watch is issued when flooding is possible. FLOOD WARNING Stay tuned to trusted news sources and be ready to seek higher ground. A Flood Warning is issued when flooding is happening or about to happen. Move to higher ground immediately! Never drive or walk through floodwaters. Be Prepared. NOAA weather.gov Take Action!'

Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water. A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters.

May be an image of 1 person, car and text that says 'Don't underestimate the power of water! NOAA 6 inches of fast-moving water car knock over and carry away an adult. 12inches of fast-moving water can carry away a small car. 18-24 inches of fast-moving water can carry away most large SUVs, vans and trucks.'

TONIGHT:

We hit 77° today in Jackson on Monday setting a record that was previously set in 2017 at 76°. The warm and humid weather will continue tonight and stick around all day on Tuesday. Temperatures tonight will only fall down to the low 60s. Expect a mostly cloudy night as well and we could see a stray shower or two, but I wouldn’t expect to see much tonight.

The winds are also going to be pesky through Wednesday morning until the cold front passes. A wind advisory has been issued for all of West Tennessee from early Tuesday morning through early Wednesday morning. Winds will be sustained out of the southwest between 15-20 MPH tonight with gusts up to 30 MPH.

TUESDAY:

Tuesday is going to be a windy day all day long. Winds will come out of the southwest between 20-25 MPH and gusts as high as 40-45 MPH in the middle of the day. It will also be very warm on Tuesday with highs again reaching the upper 70s. The record on Tuesday is 79° set back in the 1980s and we are going to be very close to hitting 80°. Skies will be mostly cloudy but there could be a few peaks of sunshine during the day. Tuesday night lows will be warm but drop quickly into the day on Wednesday as the front passes. A line of showers and storms will move through between 2-7AM overnight.

WEDNESDAY:

A line of gusty showers and non severe storms will move through in the early morning hours. The rain should clear out around the time the sun comes up across the Mid South. Expect between 0.25-0.50″ of rain at the most. High temperatures on Wednesday will occur around midnight and drop quickly into the afternoon as the cold front pushes in. Temperatures will be in the mid 40s by the afternoon but drop all the way down to around 30° for Wednesday night. Skies will start out cloudy but some sunshine could try to show up in the evening hours depending on how fast the cold front moves out into the afternoon. The winds will change direction early in the day and be a bit breezy out of the northwest between 10-15 MPH.

THURSDAY:

Thursday is going to start out chilly, likely a few degrees below freezing before warming up to the low 50s into the afternoon. Expect a mix of sun and clouds on Thursday and a light breeze out of the east. There will be some cold rain showers trying to move back in late Thursday night, but we are not expecting storms this time. We are also going to be just a few degrees too warm for any sort of wintry mix as overnight lows are forecast to fall down to the upper 30 Thursday night when the rain is coming down, but it will be close again and something worth watching later this week.

FRIDAY:

We will see a round of cold rain showers Friday morning but they should taper off into the afternoon and we will be dry Friday evening across West Tennessee. Highs on Friday will be a little warmer than on Thursday and make it up to the upper 50s to near 60°. The reason for the warm up will be the winds changing back to the southeast into the afternoon. Expect mostly cloudy skies on Friday and Friday night lows will dip down to the upper 40s as some warmer and more humid will move back in just in time for the upcoming weekend.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Long term forecast models are suggesting a warm finish to the month of February and a warm start to March. Spring is about 3 weeks away and starts on March 19th this year. As the warmer weather moves in, we might be transitioning to more of a severe weather threat than a cold and snowy one for the last few weeks of Winter. The next chance for storms is coming in on Tuesday night this week, but the following weekend is looking pretty nice though.

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