US Weather Forecast: Severe Thunderstorms, Heavy Rain Threaten US Deep South This Week [NWS]

A severe thunderstorm alert, along with the risk of heavy rain, has been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the Deep South region of the United States. This week, meteorologists are expecting that severe thunderstorms will continue across the southern US at least until Tuesday evening, March 5. On the other hand, the latest NWS US weather forecast mentions additional mountain snow for the Western US.

The forecast comes a day after the weather service on Monday, March 4, reported the weakening of a winter storm over the American West; as well as the continuance of a wildfire threat in the High Plains, where raging wildfires spread across the Texas Panhandle. Over the past week, the US has seen a decrease in winter storm activity nationwide, as the country moves toward the end of the 2023-2024 winter season to welcome the spring season.

US Weather Forecast

The NWS Weather Prediction Center (WPC) states heavy snow is occurring over parts of the northern or central Rockies and highlights the risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern Plains on Thursday, March 7. This is according to the agency's short-range US weather forecast at 2:54 p.m. EST (local time) on Tuesday. This means adverse weather could impact states in the mentioned locations, causing travel disruption.

While the eastern half of the country remains relatively calm, the WPC also mentioned a risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the southern New England or northern Mid-Atlantic regions on Wednesday, March 6. The prediction center explains that a lower pressure located along the Mid-Atlantic Coast will move in a northeast direction toward Southeast Canada by Wednesday morning.

Severe Thunderstorm Alert

In terms of the severe thunderstorm alert in the Deep South, the NWS reported that moisture pooling along a weather front will contribute in the development of rain showers and thunderstorms over parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley. The severe weather will stretch to the Lower Great Lakes region in a northeast direction. Furthermore, the showers and thunderstorms will spread to the Central Gulf Coast and the Southeast US by overnight Tuesday.

During this period, flooding is possible due to heavy rain caused by the showers. In addition, isolated tornadoes and damaging winds may occur in severe thunderstorms. In recent years, the US spring season has been associated with deadly tornadoes in both the central and southern states, as well as their surrounding regions. These twisters had resulted in fatalities and property damage.

Previously, AccuWeather reported that tornado fatalities for 2023 have been the highest in more than a decade as thunderstorms persisted until June, wherein tornado reports reached at least 186 for the whole month alone. This means that tornado outbreaks could impact the central or southern tier of the US in the coming weeks or months.