A sprawling winter storm that is pushing slowly across the United States will bring a risk of severe weather and excessive rainfall to a large part of the south-central United States from Wednesday into Friday.
Isolated thunderstorms, flooding rains and damaging winds are all possible in an area between East Texas and western Kentucky.
The system was on track to deliver snow across part of the Southwest overnight Tuesday and move across the Southern Rockies by Wednesday morning, “doing all of this very slowly,” said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
As the storm moves into the Southern Plains on Wednesday, it will bring a marginal risk of excessive rainfall that could cause flash flooding in portions of north-central Texas and Oklahoma, especially Wednesday night. Dallas could pick up two to three inches of rain, and areas just east of it over three inches. Arkansas and Louisiana will also begin to see some rain.
Mr. Hurley described Wednesday’s storm activity as “what will come ahead of the main show.”
From Thursday morning into Friday, more severe weather is expected to hit areas of East Texas, Arkansas and northern Louisiana and a portion of the lower Mississippi Valley area.
The biggest concern is damaging winds up to 70 miles per hour, and on Thursday afternoon there’s a small risk for tornadoes, Mr. Hurley said.
The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Miss., warned of isolated severe storms and damaging winds up to 60 m.p.h. and said that “tornadoes can’t be ruled out” Thursday evening into early Friday.
The heaviest rain Thursday morning into Friday is forecast to occur just to the north, including across northeast Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, the lower Mississippi Valley and the western Tennessee Valley. There’s a slight risk that excessive rainfall could cause flash flooding.
The storm will be pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and, as it swells with moisture, could unleash heavy rain with the potential for localized flooding, especially across the Ozarks.
Little Rock, Ark., is predicted to receive up to two inches of rain, while some of the wettest locations nearby could record over three inches.
By Thursday night, the heaviest rain is expected to have pushed across the Mississippi River, moving into eastern Kentucky and Tennessee.
The post Sprawling Storm Brings Risk of Flooding Rains to Part of Central U.S. appeared first on New York Times.
