Storm to Soak Texas to Florida Late Week

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

January 20,2015; 8:11PM,EST

 

 

Dry weather will be the theme across the Gulf Coast during the first half of the week, but umbrellas will be needed come Thursday.
A disturbance departing the Southwest will tap into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, allowing for rain to develop over much of the southern Plains for Thursday, followed by the Southeast on Friday.
Chilly air in place over the Plains can allow for snow to fall instead of rain in places such as Lubbock, Texas and Roswell, New Mexico.
Enough snow will fall to cause some sidewalks and roadways to be slippery on Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Traffic delays should be anticipated along the I-10 corridor as the rain moves through. This includes cities such as Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida.

People driving through the heavy rain should exercise caution as it can lead to hydroplaning and ponding on the roadways.
If you are driving through the downpours, you should allow for extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you in case you begin to hydroplane and need more space to come to a stop.
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Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches are likely from central Texas, along the Gulf Coast and across northern Florida before the start of the weekend with locally higher amounts possible.

Depending on the speed of the system, some of the rain could linger over the Southeast on Saturday, dampening any outdoor plans across Florida and along the coasts of the Carolinas.
A faster track would take the system out to sea on Friday night, making for dry conditions to kick off the weekend.
Regardless of how fast or slow the system moves, temperatures late this week and into weekend are forecast to run within a few degrees of normal across the region.
The storm is forecast to make a turn to the north this weekend, which could spread a swath of significant, snow, rain and a wintry mix northward to the coastal Northeast.