Storm Threat Thursday Night into Friday Morning
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:
The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded the western half of our viewing area to a slight risk (2/5) for severe storms. Some could show up as early as 8-9pm, but they may hold off until midnight for many of us. The later they show up, the better for us to avoid anything significant. You still need to stay weather aware and be prepared for at least some gusty storms to come through Thursday night. Catch the latest on the timing and more on the freeze coming next week; all right here.
TONIGHT:
West Tennessee was warmer on Wednesday than Tuesday and warmed back up near 80° in the afternoon. The humidity is going to continue to increase as the winds are forecast to stay out of the south tonight making for a sticky evening. We saw a few more clouds on Wednesday and skies will remain partly cloudy tonight. Wednesday night lows will only fall to around 60°. Rain is not in the forecast tonight but it will be quite humid.
THURSDAY:
The next system is going to march closer to West Tennessee and will impact our weather Thursday night into Friday morning. The storm prediction center has upgraded the western half of our viewing around to a slight risk (2/5) for severe storms. The earlier in the evening the storms show up, the more likely they will be severe as the storms will weaken overnight as they move thorough our area.
The winds will come out of the south and be a bit breezy at times as the front gets a little closer. Expect a mostly cloudy day on Thursday. Thursday will be warm in the upper 70s and Thursday night lows will dip to around 60°. Rain showers and some potential storms are expected as the front passes. Some people may end up with over 2″ of rain in our southern counties by noon on Friday. Rain chances are 90% Thursday night.
FRIDAY:
It appears early Friday morning will be the most likely time to be impacted with rain and storms, but we are still several days out and the forecast will probably change some over the next few days. Highs on Friday will be early in the day and be somewhere between 65-70°. The winds will change from the south to the west and then to the northwest by Friday night. Friday will also be a cloudy day. Rain chances currently sit at 80% for Friday. The showers will look to stay just to our south on Saturday but Saturday rain chances are going to be very close as the forecast this weekend is looking quite tricky.
THE WEEKEND:
As the front passes on Friday, it will stall out just to the south of West Tennessee. This will keep the clouds around all day on Saturday. A weak low pressure system is also forecast to develop south of us and that could bring a few showers on Saturday to areas south of Jackson. Chances for rain though is only 10% on Saturday. That system will move out of Sunday but we are not expecting the skies to clear out until the back half of the day on Sunday. Highs this weekend will reach the low to mid 60s. Saturday night will be around 50° but Sunday night lows will dip down into the 30s if the skies clear out. Next week we are likely looking at a freeze Monday night into Tuesday morning. Please do not plant this weekend as we are not done with the freezing weather yet.
FINAL THOUGHT:
Long term forecast models are suggesting a warm end to winter. Spring is about 1 week away and starts on March 19th this year. Since warmer weather returned, we are still dealing with more of a severe weather threat than a cold and snowy one for the last week of Winter. The next chance for storms is coming in late Thursday this week, and more chances exist in the forecast next week. Cooler weather will be moving in next week as well for the first full week of Spring and a freeze is coming early next week.
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
