Storm Slides SE & Heat Builds In

A storm system now in the center of the nation will drift into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on Friday taking with it some substantial rainfall. Areas in the heart of the nation saw heavy rainfall on Wednesday, in order of 2" to 5". This occurred over already saturated lands and will only enhance the ongoing flooding. Several locations along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries are now reporting moderate flooding. A few of these include:

Mississippi River

Hannibal, MO

Grafton, IL

Chester, IL

Cape Girardeau, MO

Thebes, MO

Missouri River

Herman, MO

Illinois River

Beardstown, IL

Havana, IL

Friday, the emphasis of the rain shifts eastward into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Some areas may see as much as 2" to 4" of rain, especially across Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

For the weekend, quickly behind this storm system, an upper level ridge will be building from Texas into the Mid-Mississippi Valley by Saturday. This will allow the mercury to quickly rise into the upper 80s and low 90s for much of the weekend from the eastern Plains to the Ohio Valley. At the same an upper level wave over the Bahamas will sit nearly stationary.

For next week, this feature will slowly drift westward and will help to temper temps across the southeast while it will remain hot and humid through the center of the nation and even poking into portions of northeast. As the upper wave nears the southeastern Coast, the chances for afternoon scattered showers/tstorms will increase. The feature will finally make its way into the Southeast by late next week.