Scattered thunderstorms across most of the Southeast US today, but the biggest threat of strong winds, hail, and a few tornadoes exists in Oklahoma and Texas this afternoon and tonight with an ENHANCED RISK. This stormy weather shifts east towards the Mississippi Valley Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, then spreads across the Southeast US Friday afternoon, Friday night, and into Saturday morning. Mother’s Day Weekend continues to look nice for most of the nation (outside of the northern Rockies and the Pacific NW) with sunshine and pleasant temperatures for most. Texas in particular will be HOT! A quieter week of weather with sun and warm temperatures is ahead for most areas east of the Mississippi next week.
Oklahoma and northern Texas will be where the strongest thunderstorms are this afternoon and tonight. Strong damaging wind gusts, hail and a few tornadoes are possible in this zone of SLIGHT to ENHANCED risk as defined by the Storm Prediction Center. There will be two rounds of storms, one this afternoon and evening out ahead of the storm system. The second, in the middle of the night as the cold front/dry line comes barreling off the plains. These storms reach Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana tomorrow, and still linger EAST of DFW in northeast Texas. The storms will also be a SLIGHT to ENHANCED threat Thursday afternoon and Thursday Night as they make their way across the Mississippi River.
During the day on Friday, the risk goes to SLIGHT but the storms still threaten a larger area from Nashville to Knoxville, through Chattanooga, Huntsville, Birmingham, Atlanta, and then after sunset into the Upstate of South Carolina, western North Carolina, the Charlotte area and into the Midlands of SC. The storms will make their way through the rest of the Carolinas and Virginias on Saturday before the storm draws off the coast just in time for Mother’s Day.
Speaking of Mother’s Day… it’s looking really nice across most of the country! Even into SE Canada, it will actually look and feel like Spring! Sunshine and 60s across SE Canada, the Northeast, and the Great Lakes. 70s from the Ohio Valley to the Carolinas. 80s and 90s from Florida through the southern Mississippi Valley and into the central Plains. In Oklahoma and especially Texas, triple-digit heat is not only in play, but LIKELY. Seasonably warm/hot across the desert Southwest. The northern Rockies and Pacific NW will be chilly and unsettled. Jacket weather with scattered rain showers and higher elevation mountain snows.
This weather trend for Mother’s Day looks to “rinse and repeat” into a good part of next week. If you are east of the Mississippi, especially in the Great Lakes and the Northeast, SPRING WILL BE HERE! It will warm up, green up, and put you all in a much better mood!
