A Stormy Pattern Will Bring Heavy Rain To The Southeastern U.S. This Week

Bouts of heavy rain will envelop parts of the southeastern United States over the next couple of days as a pokey upper-level low hangs around over the region. While we shouldn't see any organized severe weather, any of the thunderstorms that bubble up in the soupy airmass could produce heavy rainfall, leading to a risk for flash flooding in some spots.

The big weather story for most of the country this week is that the weather is going to be relatively boring. A huge upper-level ridge parked over the U.S. and Canada will keep things pretty warm for the next week, with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s reaching as far north as Hudson Bay. (That's toasty for October!)

However, an upper-level low over the southeast will keep things interesting through the end of the week. This cutoff low will linger for the next couple of days, providing the lift needed to kick off several rounds of showers and thunderstorms from Alabama to Virginia.

The Weather Prediction Center's latest rainfall forecast through next Monday shows a widespread region of 2-4 inches of rain falling from the northern Gulf Coast up the Appalachian foothills into Virginia. Some areas will see higher rainfall totals, especially if any productive thunderstorms park over one area for too long.

Flash flood watches are in effect for parts of Alabama and Georgia ahead of the heavy rainfall. It's already raining pretty hard in spots. A heavy storm delayed a race at Talladega earlier this afternoon, and we had one of the year's better storms today here in central North Carolina.

The rain is a welcome sight. It was a pretty dry September for much of the southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, with many areas coming in several inches of rain below average over the past 30 days. 

[Satellite Image: NOAA]

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