4 Big Weather Stories the South Should Watch This Week

Linda Lam
Published: November 3,2015
A break from the rain will last until late this week for much of Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley. However, if you are in the Southeast this week and were hoping for a break from the dreary weather conditions you will likely be disappointed.
Below are four things you need to know about the weather in the South for the first week in November.

1) No Break For Some

Not much in the way of sunshine will be found across the Southeast this week. An area of low pressure will stall off the Southeast coast through midweek. This stalled frontal system combined with high pressure to the north will bring an easterly flow to the region.
This easterly flow along with lingering moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic will keep light rain or drizzle in the forecast through midweek for much of the Southeast. This setup is expected to weaken by Thursday.
The result will be gray, cloudy and clammy days for North and South Carolina, as well as Georgia and portions of Virginia and Alabama.
(MORE: Storms Swamp Roads Across the South | Flooding and Rainfall Reports)

This Week's Forecast

Since last Monday, Oct. 26, there has only been one day where Atlanta did not report at least 0.01 inch of rain, and that was Friday.
However, parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Texas will see a break in the rain and the overcast skies until later this week. This will be very welcome across Texas, where this past weekend was the second weekend in a row plagued by serious flooding.
(MORE: Flooding, Tornadoes in Texas)

2) Another Round Later This Week

The threat of flooding may return with the next low pressure system that will move into the South later this week.
The low pressure system that is currently in the West will begin to push eastward into the Plains Wednesday night and into Thursday. This cold front will then move through the South late this week and into this weekend, bringing the chance of rain and thunderstorms.
(MAPS: Weekly Planner)

Rainfall Forecast

Rain and thunderstorms first return to Texas Wednesday night or early Thursday and might linger through Saturday as the front may stall across portions of the South. Due to the stalling of the front there is the risk of locally heavy rainfall and flooding once again.
(FORECAST: Houston | New Orleans | Charleston, South Carolina)
This cold front will reach the Southeast Friday night and into the weekend bringing yet another round of rain.

3) Threat Of Severe Thunderstorms Returns

Scattered severe thunderstorms are also possible again late this week in parts of the South as the cold front pushes through the region.
Instability levels are expected to increase Thursday into Friday and there will be plenty of moisture surging northward as well. These factors combined with the cold front marching eastward will bring the chance of severe thunderstorms.
Portions of the southern Plains will see the risk of a few severe thunderstorms beginning Thursday, especially from central Texas into Oklahoma and south-central Kansas.

Severe Thunderstorm Forecast

(MORE: Severe Thunderstorm Forecast | TOR:CON Tornado Threat Forecast)
As the cold front pushes east on Friday there is a chance of a few isolated severe thunderstorms in sections of the Lower Mississippi Valley and into Alabama, northwestern Georgia, Tennessee as well as northward into the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes region.
Areas near the Atlantic coast may see a few severe thunderstorms develop on Saturday as the cold front finally moves toward the coast.

4) Temperatures Near To Above Average

A strong upper-atmospheric ridge of high pressure will help to bring warm temperatures to much of the Eastern U.S. this week. However, high temperatures will be close to what is expected at this time of year for most of the Southeast through midweek due to the cloud cover.
(MORE: November Pattern Change)
High pressure will be in place over the western Atlantic ahead of the next cold front and this setup will allow southerly winds to bring warmer temperatures, especially low temperatures, across the South.

Areas where there is a break in the clouds and the sun is able to poke through will see high temperatures reach up to 10 to 15 degrees above average, with highs topping out in the 70s and 80s.
Low temperatures, however, will benefit from the clouds holding in the warmth. Lows are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees warmer than average for this time of year from Texas to the Southeast coast. Morning low temperatures will be quite mild, dropping only into the 50s and 60s across the South, with 70s along the Gulf Coast and in Florida.
(FORECAST: Dallas | Nashville | Tallahassee)
The warmest high temperatures will reach the Southeast late this week, as cloud cover is expected to decrease some which will help temperatures to warm during the day.
MORE: Texas Rain, Tornado Oct. 30, 2015 (PHOTOS)