Storms Friday – Saturday; Arctic Blast to Follow

Figure 1. GFS predicted minimum temperature (F) for 6 AM Sunday. (Weatherbell Analytics)

An arctic blast this weekend is still expected to be preceded by impacts from a large storm system.


marginal SEVERE THREAT:

Friday night into Saturday, an area of low pressure is going to track from the Southern Plains to the Tennessee Valley. This is going to bring a trailing front across TX, LA, MS, AL, and FL Panhandle.

There will be a band of rain and storms will accompany the front, with potential for a strong to severe storm or two. Instability should be limited, but shear will be favorable — a setup rather common as of late.

Figure 2. Severe weather outlook for Friday.

The Storm Prediction Center has hatched a “marginal” risk area for Friday. However, a risk area has not yet been added for Saturday.

As of now, the overall severe risk is low. The main threat Friday will be hail, but some damaging wind gusts. For Saturday, the main threat will be damaging wind gusts.

Heavy rain is also probable. But because this front will be moving rather quickly, no flooding issues are unlikely.


ARCTIC BLAST:

A blast of bitter arctic air will follow in the wake of the front, bringing the coldest air of the season thus far for most.

Parts of east Texas and far NW Louisiana will be the first to experience temperatures below freezing Saturday night/Sunday morning (see figure 1).

The arctic air mass will then push into points east (LA, MS, AL and the FL Panhandle) Saturday into Sunday, causing temperatures to nosedive into the 20s to just below freezing Sunday night/Monday morning.  Wind chills will be in the teens.


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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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