Dry weather to aid cleanup in flooded Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

May 4,2016; 8:53PM,EDT

 

 

Following weeks of relentless rain and rounds of flooding, a change in the weather pattern will bring an extended period of dry and sunny conditions to much of the south-central United States.
Areas from central Texas to much of Louisiana and southern Mississippi have received three to six times their normal rainfall since the middle of April. Houston; Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi; and New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, have received more than a foot of rain over the past three weeks.
Residents are evacuated from their flooded neighborhoods by airboat, Tuesday, April 19,2016, in Spring, Texas. Storms dumped more than a foot of rain in the Houston area, flooding dozens of neighborhoods. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The flooding that occurred caused loss of life and extensive property damage.
"Many areas will have a week of dry, sunny weather," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok. "In some cases, the dry weather may last into next week."

The weather pattern will allow waters to recede slowly and aid in cleanup and repair operations.
High temperatures most days will range from the upper 70s to the middle 80s F.
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The pattern shift will also bring multiple days of a lull in severe weather across portions of the southern Plains, which have been hit by violent storms of late.
Where possible, people will want to expedite the drainage of water from their property. Pools of stagnant water can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and harbor other unwanted species.
"A blocking pattern, or atmospheric traffic jam, will set up over the U.S. this week," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
The pattern prevents the routine west to east movement of weather systems across the nation. Instead, weather systems must take a thousand-mile detour or are stuck in one spot for days.

"The same type of weather pattern was responsible for weeks of little or no rain for the Northeast and wet weather for the South Central states during much of April," Pydynowski said.
This time the dry versus wet areas will be reversed across much of the nation.
While the pattern shift will continue to bring the risk of isolated flooding, persistent rainfall in the East will generally be less intense, when compared to the South Central states.
The pattern shift will also allow some beneficial rain to fall on the Pacific Coast states this week, which continue to experience difficulties from long-term drought.
The potential for flooding rainfall could return beyond this weekend over the South Central states.
The blocking pattern will break down by early next week and will allow weather systems, including episodes of showers and thunderstorms, to resume their west to east motion, Pastelok stated.