Note this forecast is as of 1/6/20 .. We will monitor situation throughout week and update as needed.
It’s January, and to kick off the 2020 weather season, apparently Mother Nature has decided to start it with a bang.
According to the NOAA prediction center Thursday evening through Saturday. Sunday is too far out for speculation. It will bring more flooding rains, severe weather and isolated tornadoes Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia.
The Statement from NOAA is as follows:
A multi-day severe weather episode is expected across portions of the Arklatex into the Deep South vicinity on D5/Fri and D6/Sat. The ingredients for severe thunderstorms will begin to fall into place Day 4/Thu as an upper ridge spreads eastward across the eastern U.S. and a large-scale trough intensifies across the western states. At the surface, a strong surface pressure gradient will develop from the Midwest to the western Gulf Coast, allowing rich Gulf moisture to begin streaming northward across east TX and the lower MS Valley vicinity on Thursday. The warm sector will expand through the day on Friday from eastern OK/TX eastward across much of the TN Valley and Gulf Coast states. Surface dewpoints are expected to be impressive for this time of year, climbing into the mid 60s to low 70s as a deepening surface low shifts eastward across OK/TX on Friday. This will occur as the western trough ejects eastward into the southern Plains and an intense southerly low level jet overspreads the region. Forecast guidance also shows a weak EML emanating from the Mexican Plateau spreading over parts of the region, providing a weak cap that should limit warm sector convection initially. Confidence has increased that a strong vertical shear parameter-space will overlay a high-quality warm sector ahead of the ejecting trough and a southeastward-advancing cold front Friday afternoon through Friday night. As such, a 30% severe delineation has been included for parts of the Arklatex within the broader 15% severe probability area. On Day 6/Sat, severe thunderstorm potential is expected to continue into portions of the TN Valley and the northern Gulf Coast vicinity. Similar to Friday, intense shear parameters and adequate instability will exist across the region as the upper trough becomes more compact and lifts northeast across the mid/lower MS Valley to the OH Valley. 15% severe probabilities will be maintained at this time as questions remain with respect to how pristine the warm sector will remain over MS/AL and vicinity, as well as timing/location of key surface features. That being said, the overall pattern will support severe thunderstorms into Saturday evening across much of the Deep South vicinity. Confidence in severe potential beyond Day 6/Sat is low, though guidance suggests stormy conditions could return to parts of the Southeast on Monday/Monday night.
