Earthquake this Morning, Storms & Showers Coming Tonight
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:
An earthquake felt as far away as Parsons hit just after 3am, 4 miles south of Ridgely this morning and a couple small aftershocks developed this afternoon. The shaking is done for now but some storms are moving in later tonight. Bands of heavy rain showers and weak embedded thunderstorms will move through West Tennessee tonight and continue into Friday morning. The showers will move out and taper off towards the second half of the day. Friday will be a cooler day but a warm up is coming for the weekend. Catch the full forecast here.
Water levels are running high across West Tennessee but only partially due to the rain we have seen over the last week. Upstream dams on Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers have been opened and the water levels will stay high this week. According to the TRV they are moving a large amount of water across the main stem of the Tennessee River. TVA is spilling water at all 9 dams on the Tennessee River to move as much water as they can as quickly as possible to reduce future flooding potential later this month.
TONIGHT:
Thursday started out mostly sunny but clouds built back in late in the day. Showers and storms will be possible during the late evening and especially overnight into Friday morning with increasing in coverage and intensity. The only places to see a chance for evening storms will be northwest of Madison County if we see them reaching us at all.
The winds on Thursday transitioned back to the southwest allowing us to warm back up into the low to mid 80s. The humidity will also climbed some on Thursday setting the stage for some storms and showers to return but also keeping overnight lows in the mid 60s Thursday night. Chances for rain overnight Thursday into Friday morning is at 90% as of now.
FRIDAY:
Like Tuesday earlier this week, showers and storms are expected to impact almost all of our viewing area. Friday is also going to be a mostly cloudy day but skies will try to clear out late Friday night into the upcoming weekend. As of now, the severe weather threat appears to be low but we will be watching the late week system closely as the day progresses.
The winds on Friday will come out of the south but the clouds and showers will only allow highs to reach the mid 70s. If we get the skies to clear, some upper 70s will be possible. Friday night lows will fall down to the low 60s again. Rain chances on Friday currently sit at 80%.
THE WEEKEND:
Forecast models are sending out some mixed messages this weekend but most are suggesting a quiet and mild weekend for the most part in West Tennessee. We will likely see more clouds than sun on Saturday but that could change as the forecast becomes more clear. Highs this weekend will make it back into the low to mid 80s with overnight lows falling to the mid 60s. A low pressure system may linger on Saturday keeping some showers around for the first half of the day along the Mississippi border, but we are not expecting severe weather or the showers to continue into the afternoon/evening on Saturday. The wind direction this weekend will come out of the northwest for the most part and be light. Sunday is looking like a really nice day if you have plans this weekend, Sunday looks better.
NEXT WEEK:
We have a shot to hit 90° for the first time in 2024 next week. Highs will be flirting with the 90° mark for both Monday and Tuesday. We are expecting mostly sunny skies to kick off the week as well. Clouds will be moving back in late Tuesday and some shower and storm chances will return as well Tuesday night into the day on Wednesday. Some storms look likely in the middle of the week with some potential for severe weather. The winds will come out of the southwest to start the weak before transitioning back to the west or northwest on Wednesday and Thursday. Morning lows will hang in the mid 60s to low 70s for the first half of next week.
FINAL THOUGHT:
We have seen close to normal amounts of rainfall so far this spring in West Tennessee after a wet start to the year according to the rain gauge out of the Jackson airport. More rain is in the forecast this week and could come in two rounds as two different systems look to impact our weather this week. Highs will be close to normal and so will our overnight lows. Severe weather cannot be ruled out Thursday night into the day on Friday, but overall, the threat appears to be low for most of us. We will be watching storm trends though as well as tracking everything on the radar this week as it moves through.
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
