A Soaking Rain Arrives Tomorrow

12/13/2022

Good afternoon! It was a pleasant start to the day, but cloud cover is gradually filling in. This will result in cloudy skies within the next couple of hours. Temperatures remain on track though, currently in the lower 50s and should warm a few more degrees before days end.

Moving forward, we will continue to emphasize the risk of heavy rains tomorrow. A strong area of low pressure resides across the Central Plains today, where a cold front sags south. Both features will meander east tonight, bringing widespread rainfall and a few thunderstorms through tomorrow. Rainfall amounts will vary, but 1-3" is expected. With rainfall most of last week and heavy rainfall at times tomorrow, WPC has highlighted a slight risk of flash flooding for the day Wednesday. Hopefully the few days of sunshine and drying should allow things to hold, but there could be a couple of spots that become concerning. With that said, know what to do if a Flash Flood Warning is issued.
-Seek higher ground and warn others who may not know (safely)
-Avoid traveling/driving in flooded waters (just 6" can sweep you off your feet and 12 inches could carry your car away)
-Have a way to keep up with local officials for the latest information regarding warnings/floods/evacuations/etc

Again, the overall chances for flash flooding are low to medium, but something some may face, these are just a few things to keep in mind/follow if a warning were to be issued for your area.

In addition to heavy rainfall (at times), winds could be gusty for the higher terrain. Checking out this high resolution model, wind gusts of 30-40 mph are likely for the plateau, foothills, and especially higher terrain of the Smokies.

Following the soaking rain tomorrow, cooler and drier air will arrive. Highs will remain in the 40s Friday and onward. This weather system will push in and allow for a cool pattern to overtake the nation, where cooler than average temps are generally expected through the remainder of the month. Though snow chances (in the valley) are low in the near-term, it is something we will watch closely in the days to weeks ahead.