Severe Storm Threat Tonight Between 10PM – 4AM Friday Morning
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:
TONIGHT:
The next system marched closer to West Tennessee on Thursday and will impact our weather Thursday night into Friday morning. The storm prediction center has upgraded all 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 threat for tornadoes is pretty low, but it we do see a few rotating storms, they are expected to be in the late evening hours between 8 and 11pm near the Mississippi River. These storms will transition more to a straight line after midnight and track west to east. The greatest threat for severe weather tonight will be locations just to the west of us, but we are likely to be hit with a gusty line of intense storms overnight.
The winds came out of the south and were a bit breezy at times. The winds will increase tonight as the front gets a little closer. Expect a mostly cloudy night on Thursday, but we did see the sun peak through at times in the afternoon. Thursday was very warm in the low 80s and was quite humid as well. Thursday night lows will only dip to around 60°. Rain showers and some potential storms are expected as the front passes. Some people may end up with close to 2″ of rain in our southern counties by sunrise 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 expecting the system to move out early in the day and we should be dry after noon. 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 start out cloudy but the skies may try to clear up late in the day and into the night. Rain chances currently sit at 70% for Friday morning. The showers will look to stay just to our south this weekend but 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 most of the weekend. A weak low pressure system is also forecast to develop south of us and that could bring a few showers on Sunday to areas south of Jackson. Chances for rain though is only 10% on Sunday. That system will move out of Sunday night, but we are not expecting the skies to clear out until overnight into Monday morning. 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 tonight, 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
