Southeast Flooding Continues Through Weekend

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

July 6,2013; 9:12PM,EDT

 

 

 

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico continues to bring rounds of rain and thunderstorms to parts of the Southeast through the extended holiday weekend.
Heavy downpours from this system pummeled the Florida Panhandle into the Fourth of July. As of 2:00 p.m. EDT on Independence Day, 9.72 inches of rain had been reported in Panama City Beach for the previous 30 hours.
Drenching storms will continue to back westward Saturday and Sunday, bringing with them more flooding issues.
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While the Panama City area remains in the area of greatest threat, Pensacola, Fla., will also be at risk for major flooding.
Other cities that could receive more than 2 inches of rain through the start of the weekend include Birmingham, Ala., Nashville, Tenn., and Cincinnati, Ohio among others.

Widespread river flooding is not expected with these storms. However, more than 6 inches of rain could fall locally in some places, causing dangerous flash flooding issues for low-lying and poor drainage areas.
All of these areas could have major travel disruptions and delays as people continue celebrating throughout the Independence Day weekend.
Heavy downpours could hinder travel along I-10 from Tallahassee through the Florida Panhandle to eastern Louisiana. Travel along I-65 and I-59 may also be obstructed.
Each afternoon and evening, airports in the area could have some delays across the region.
Like many flash flooding events, this may be a particularly dangerous situation in some area and flooding can be life-threatening.