Southeast and Texas Hill Country Braces for Flash Flooding Threat

The rain has returned to the Northeast. After a long stretch of dry weather, the northeastern U.S. is under a cover of clouds and stormy conditions on Wednesday. How long will the moisture machine hover over the region and what will the Southeast see out of this weather maker? Read on for all of the details.

Relief from Heat and Dry Conditions Rolling Over the Northeast

A dent is being put into the heat wave that has gripped the Northeast as of late. The arrival of moisture is good news for the parched region. This corner of the country had been dealing with one of the driest starts to the beginning of August in history.

For example, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, has been under the driest beginning to this month ever. The college town of State College, Pennsylvania, was tied for the second-driest beginning to the month, as of August 12.

While the bulk of the precipitation is predicted to move out to sea by Thursday, lingering moisture could disrupt outdoor plans along the coast of New England and throughout a large swath of the mid-Atlantic.

The next significant chance of rain for the Northeast will be over the weekend. A cold front dipping down from Canada will fuel the potential development of rain showers and thunderstorms at this time. Stay tuned as we update on the progression of this cool front.

Flash Flooding Threat for the Southeast and Texas

While the Northeast is likely to escape with garden-variety rain showers and thunderstorms this week, it will be a different situation in the Southeast. Higher humidity levels and an abundance of moisture coming up from the Gulf and the Atlantic will raise the threat of flash flooding.

The risk of flooding will be the highest in areas that have picked up heavy rain over the last several days. This is a part of the country that has been in the bullseye for a steady parade of storms bringing heavy rain.

A weak area of low pressure moving across the southeastern U.S. on Wednesday is amplifying the chance of storms along the way. This is the same area of low pressure that had caught the eye of hurricane watchers earlier in the week when it formed over the northern Gulf. While this system never went on to develop formal tropical characteristics, it is still associated with a great deal of moisture-rich air capable of unleashing torrential rain and gusty storms.

Chattanooga, Tennessee, was one of the communities caught up in this low as it moved through the interior Southeast on Tuesday evening. The popular summer tourist destination experienced flash flooding as the system moved through the city.

More storm action on Wednesday will heighten the risk of flooding in the Southeast. The heaviest rain bands are forecast to set up over northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee before moving to upstate South Carolina, the western and central portions of North Carolina, and to the north into south-central Virginia.

Forecasters are warning that several inches of rain could fall across this zone in a period of a few hours. This is something that local officials will be watching closely in the hours ahead. Areas of the south and east of the primary flash flood zone will also be subject to locally severe thunderstorms into early Thursday.

The big weather maker heading into the weekend that bears watching will be the development of Tropical Storm Erin in the Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has been warning that this system will intensify into a major hurricane before inching closer to the U.S. coastline. Even if the U.S. avoids a direct strike from Erin, the beaches up and down the East Coast need to be ready for rough surf conditions and frequent rip currents.

Lastly, South Texas is also being put on alert for a heavy rain event coming this weekend. An influx of tropical moisture coming up from the Gulf will fuel the torrential downpours. There is also the chance that this disturbance could evolve into a tropical depression or storm later in the week.

The potential area of impact includes portions of the Rio Grande Valley and Texas Hill Country. This is the same part of the Lone Star State that suffered the deadly flooding event over the Fourth of July weekend.

Weather changes fast — help your community stay prepared. Share this story with friends, family, or your group chat.