Severe Storms Possible Thursday, this Weekend

It now seems increasingly likely that two rounds of strong to severe storms will impact parts of the region, with the first being on Thursday, and the second being this weekend.

Setup

A storm system will move into the Southern Plains on Thursday, sweep across the Mississippi River Valley late Thursday into Friday, and exit the region to the Northeast late Friday. Then, Saturday through Sunday a second, potentially stronger storm system will sweep across the region.

 

Severe Threat Thursday

The parameters will be in place to support the potential for at least some severe storms across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle Thursday into Friday.

Storm Prediction Center convective outlook for Thursday, January 19th, 2017

Timing and placement: As of now, it looks like the time frame for severe weather will be Thursday afternoon into Thursday night/Early Friday, in the “marginal” risk area in the graphic above.

Threats: It looks like a line of storms will develop across Louisiana Thursday afternoon and move east across South/Central Mississippi, parts of Southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle; meaning the greatest severe threat will be damaging winds. However, isolated tornadoes and hail will still be possible.

Weekend Severe Threat

The same goes for the second storm system this weekend; however, a strong low level jet stream might support a greater severe weather potential.

It is still a bit early for specifics on timing and threats regarding the severe weather potential this weekend. Although, we can say that it does look like the greatest threat for severe weather will be across Southeast Louisiana, South/Central Mississippi, South/Central Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.

Rainfall Through This Weekend

Heavy rainfall will also be an issue across parts of the region Thursday through this weekend, as 2 – 4″ of rain is forecast to fall between Thursday and Sunday in association with both rounds of storms.

 

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Caleb Carmichael
Caleb Carmichael

Caleb is the owner of Gulf Coast Storm Center. He is currently an undergraduate student at Mississippi State University majoring in geoscience with a concentration in broadcast and operational meteorology. While not yet a meteorologist, Caleb has been providing weather updates, news, and analysis for the Gulf Coast since 2014.

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