More Severe Thunderstorms, Flooding Rain Target South, Mississippi Valley

April 30,2016
The saga of severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall will march on through the weekend in parts of the South and Mississippi Valley.

48-hour estimated rainfall ending 7 a.m. CT, Saturday, April 30, 2016 (contours) and reports of flooding (blue icons) April 29-30, 2016.

Flash flooding turned deadly overnight in Palestine, Texas, where up to 7.78 inches of rain had fallen.
Evacuations were prompted in the towns of Kilgore and Hughes Springs, Texas. Homes were flooded in the Gin City community near Bradley, Arkansas. Vehicles stalled in high water in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, and a mudslide blocked a road in Plain Dealing, Louisiana. A cooperative observer southeast of Marshall, Texas, reported over 9 inches of rain Friday. Street flooding became widespread Saturday morning in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Early Saturday, 60 mph wind gusts shifted and damaged two planes at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Windows were also blown out of a few homes in Bastrop County from 75 mph winds, and high winds overturned a semi on I-35 near Kyle, Texas, shutting down the northbound lanes for a time. Some trees were downed in the far north Houston metro area in Montgomery and northern Harris Counties.
For the more news on the latest impacts from the severe storms and heavy rain, click the link below.
(LATEST NEWS: Severe Storms, Flooding Impacts)
The most intense thunderstorms could produce large hail, damaging wind gusts, and possibly tornadoes. In addition, multiple rounds of rainfall is likely to trigger flash flooding, especially in already saturated locations such as eastern Texas and Louisiana.
The National Weather Service has posted flash flood watches for portions of eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and west Tennessee.
Scroll down for an overview of the timing and impacts for the severe storm and flood threat into the weekend.

Current Radar with Watches and Warnings

(MORE: View National Interactive Radar Map | Difference Between a Watch and a Warning)

Severe Weather Outlook

Saturday

• Severe thunderstorms are possible from the mid-Mississippi Valley and Lower Ohio Valley to the northern Gulf Coast.
• Threats: Damaging wind gusts, large hail and perhaps a few tornadoes. How much severe weather there will be remains uncertain given the widespread nature of clouds and rain which may hold down instability. Once again, heavy rainfall also will be a concern and could cause flooding in parts of Arkansas, east Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and west Tennessee.
• Cities: Houston | Memphis | New Orleans

Saturday's Thunderstorm Forecast

Sunday: 

• Locally heavy rain and a few severe storms may impact a swath from the mid-Atlantic and Southeast to the Gulf Coast.
• Overall the potential for severe storms will be much lower than previous days, however gusty winds and hail will still be possible. Heavy rain may also cause localized flash flooding, particularly in the Lower Mississippi Valley and near the Gulf Coast, saturated from the past few days of heavy rain.

Monday:

• Once again, any severe t-storms should be relatively few and far between from the eastern Carolinas to south Texas.
• However, areas of locally heavy rain and flash flooding may persist in the Lower Mississippi Valley and western/northern Gulf Coast.

Below is the rainfall forecast through Monday. Keep in mind that locally heavier amounts of rain can fall in short periods of time than what is shown on the map.
The heavy rain falling on already saturated ground is likely to produce additional flooding.

Rainfall Forecast

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