Second Wet Weekend in a Row to Dampen South

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

April 23,2015; 10:45PM,EDT

 

 

Rain and thunderstorms will push across the South this weekend and could derail some outdoor plans and slow travel.
In many areas, this will be the second weekend in a row with some rain.
People may need to make alternate plans. In some cases, shifting a family outing from one day to the next or from one part of the day to another may work to avoid getting soaked.
A storm system that is forecast to bring severe weather to parts of Texas and the southern Plains on Friday will push eastward during the weekend. Rain will reach as far north as the Ohio Valley and part of the mid-Atlantic states.

As much as 2 inches of rain may fall in some areas of the South from the heavy thunderstorms that move through. However, some areas that do not get hit with these heavy storms may not even receive 0.50 of an inch of rain.
The wettest day of the weekend is likely to be on Saturday from Kentucky to Tennessee, much of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. As dry air pushes eastward, many areas are likely to be free of rain with some sunshine on Sunday.
Some rain will fall on both days of the weekend in the Carolinas, coastal Georgia and northern Florida. However, the bulk of the rain will fall in this zone from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning.
Rain could cause delays and perhaps a postponement of the NASCAR race scheduled for Saturday evening at Richmond International Speedway in Virginia.
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Showers and thunderstorms that have been affecting South Florida and assisting crews battling wildfires during the week will depart by the weekend. Rainfall since the first of the year has been about half of average in many parts of South Florida.
In terms of thunderstorms, there will be a few scattered throughout the area of rain as it moves eastward. Isolated incidents of flash and urban flooding can occur along with gusty winds. The heaviest storms are likely to be near the Gulf coast.
Many locations in the South have received two to three times their normal rainfall during April.

In terms of the wet conditions thus far this spring, there is no sign of any major changes taking place in the weather pattern into early May.