Scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms will remain across portions of the South and Southeast as upper-level energy passes over deep moisture pooled along a slow-moving surface front.
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After receiving 6-10+ inches of rain across northeastern Texas and into Louisiana, the heaviest rains have shifted east into Mississippi early this morning.
This system is forecast to gradually weaken over the next couple of days but it will remain be in the vicinity of central to eastern Gulf states.
Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall can be expected today, especially over the lower Mississippi Valley, and may spread into Alabama on Thursday.
The heavy rainfall will increase the threat of localized flooding and runoff issues.
A slow tapering trend of the heavy rain is forecast by Friday but more scattered thunderstorms can be expected to develop along the Gulf Coast.
Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms will fire up today and into the evening across the northern Plains as two cold fronts sink southward from Canada.
The northern High Plains appears to be more favorable for the thunderstorms to contain heavy downpours given the presence of high moisture content.
As a wave of low pressure forms along the front, these showers and storms will expand eastward into the upper Midwest today before reaching into the Great Lakes on Thursday.
By early on Friday, interior New England will see these activities arriving with the approach of the frontal wave.
Meanwhile, monsoonal showers and thunderstorms will be a daily occurrence across the Four-Corners region.
With the extent of cloud cover and rain, much of the South will be cooler than average, with the potential for record low maximum temperatures today across the lower Mississippi Valley.
Above average temperatures are expected to persist across the Great Basin, Pacific Northwest and interior valleys of California thus continuing the increased risk for fire weather across these regions.
Above average temperatures are also expected from the central Plains to New England ahead of the front and the developing frontal wave for the next couple of days. ■
A clipper system will move quickly across the northern Plains into the Midwest Friday and the Northeast by Saturday, bringing a wintry mix of rain and snow showers ahead of a sweeping cold front.