Gulf Of Mexico Storm Fuels Torrential Rains, Severe Thunderstorms Over Southern US

(Photo : Getty Images/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI)

Torrential rains and heavy downpours are expected in the southern portion of the United States due to a storm that is fueling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Weather experts said this phenomenon would bring a renewal of stream and highway flooding as well as few gusty thunderstorms and tornadoes this weekend. This will affect residents living in southeastern Texas to Alabama.

Rich Moisture From Gulf Of Mexico

Downpours from the typhoon can already be felt as drops were already falling in the Plains and along the northern Gulf Coast on Friday.

Due to the rich moisture flowing out of the Gulf of Mexico, more rains and thunderstorms are expected into the start of the weekend from Texas to the Carolinas.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said that light snow showers and some freezing rain would slowly come to an end as a result of the weather condition.

Furthermore, this weather system organizing over the central Gulf Coast will spread a line of thunderstorms, focused along a cold front, across the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast beginning Friday evening towards Saturday.

A broad Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is also in effect across the central Gulf Coast where much of the region has had virtually no time to recover from the deluge of rain that they have experienced and received over the past few days.

Meteorologists said some convergence over Oklahoma in the afternoon would support the propagation of a weak complex of storms across the state in the evening before eventually merging with the Gulf Coast system and producing scattered showers and thunderstorms to Arkansas and the Tennessee as well as Ohio Valley on Saturday.

In the past week, the heaviest, most repetitive downpours have occurred from eastern Texas to Louisiana, southern Arkansas and Mississippi, where rainfall estimates were between six and 15 inches.

Excessive Rainfall

Meanwhile, upslope enhancement of moisture over the Southern and Central Appalachians could lead to flash flooding concerns on Saturday as frontally driven storms interact with the terrain.

Due to this, a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect for the Southern Appalachians through portions of the Central Appalachians and southwest Virginia on Saturday.

The same weather system will spread showers and thunderstorms into the Southeast and middle Atlantic Coast on Saturday night into Sunday.

The cold air in place over the Northeast will support some light snow over the interior and some light freezing rain and sleet over parts of southern New England on Sunday.

Weather experts said that conditions should begin to improve by Sunday night.

Elsewhere, a series of low pressure systems will direct a continuous stream of moisture into the Pacific Northwest this weekend.

Meteorologists said that anywhere between one to four inches of rain is possible with isolated higher amounts over the coastal ranges and Cascades.

A Slight Risk is in effect over the coastal border region of Oregon and California where several inches of rainfall may accumulate in the evening.

Further, high pressure over the East and West Coasts will generate anomalous warmth for those regions over the weekend.

The upper low tracking across the southern tier states will moderate temperatures with cloudy cooler conditions compared to normal.

Record warm low temperatures is also possible in the southeast and northwest portion in the evening.

As the west continues to warm up later this weekend into early next week, so will the potential for widespread record breaking temperatures up and down the coast.