Much Needed Rain May Be Too Much...

A quick summery for those wanting to attend the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge below. Waves of showers and thunderstorms are expected on and off throughout the day Saturday. Within these "waves" is the possibility of lightning, heavy winds, and downpours. The severe threat is low, but you still need to remain weather aware. As for the festival forecast, it will be a wet one. Showers will arrive sometime around the 8am hour and  carry through until the early afternoon. By 2pm showers will become more scattered, coming in "waves" as described above. If there was a best time to go, it would be later in the day between 3-8. Scattered showers are likely, so try and enjoy the festival during these dry slots. 

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is staying dry with all the rain we have had the past few days. Unfortunately, this pattern will continue for the next several days thanks to a low pressure system bringing lots of tropical moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico. As you can see below, lots of heavy rain and embedded thunder is expected for much of today across a large portion of the southeast. This will continue into your Saturday and Sunday, with the heaviest of showers likely to occur these days. 

Taking a look below, this is one of several model runs depicting the rain throughout the state over the next couple of days. As you can see, these waves of showers followed by scattered showers move through the area for both Saturday and Sunday. As I highlighted, some of these will contain heavy winds, heavy rains, and lightning. Please use caution if you plan to be outdoors. 

Below highlights the risk of flash flooding today (the 7th) and tomorrow (the 8th). The WPC at NOAA has placed east TN under a slight risk. This means flash flooding, and flooding altogether, cannot be ruled out. With a slight drought a concern prior to the two systems moving through and now a saturated ground, flooding could be an issue Saturday. Use your best judgment during storms and always remember "turn around, don't drown". That saying may get old, but it is very true. You never know how fast water is flowing in that area or if the road/bridge is washed out from under that water. It's always better to be safe than sorry. 

By Tuesday morning this system will have begun moving south allowing for a weak high to dry us out for a good portion of the day Tuesday. By Wednesday, remnance of the low will bring isolated to scattered showers mid week. A more detailed description for the expectations for next week will be released Monday, so stay tuned. Until then, stay dry and safe!