More rain, possible floods in the forecast for swamped South
Story Highlights
- "The rainfall may be heavy, which could result in new or worsening flooding problems."
- A large-scale outbreak of severe weather is not anticipated.
- The weekend flooding in Nashville was the worst flood to hit the region since May 2010.
After a deadly and devastating weekend of flooding in portions of the South, another round of rain is forecast for the region on Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters warned.
Over the weekend, surging water battered the Nashville area, killing at least four people and forcing scores more to flee their homes in a frantic search for higher ground.
Showers and thunderstorms are forecast along the Gulf Coast initially on Tuesday, before expanding northward into Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky during Tuesday night, AccuWeather said.
Here, the rainfall is expected to become heavier and more widespread – right over the areas that don’t need it.
“The rainfall may be heavy, which could result in new or worsening flooding problems,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Mike LeSeney said.
The predicted rain “is not something we want with the ground still saturated and rivers and streams running so full,” the National Weather Service in Nashville said. “Many areas will be ill-equipped to bear the additional burden of more rainfall.”
A car rests in a ravine along Blackman Dr. near Edmondson Pike Sunday, March 28, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn. Flash flooding along Sevenmile Creek the night before caused major damage in the South Nashville neighborhood.
(Photo: George Walker IV, The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network)
However, unlike weather systems in recent weeks, which spawned dozens of tornadoes and widespread swaths of wind damage across the South, a large-scale outbreak of severe weather is not anticipated, according to AccuWeather.
‘It’s been a very tough year’: At least four dead as record rainfall slams Tennessee; flooding remains a threat
And there is some other good news in the long-range forecast: “Fortunately, we`re anticipating a long dry spell once the rain finally exits the region later on Wednesday,” the weather service in Nashville said.
In fact, much of the South could remain rain-free through much of the first full week of April, AccuWeather said.
The weekend flooding in Nashville was the worst flood to hit the region since May 2010. Those floods caused 21 deaths in Tennessee and an estimated $1.5 billion in damage in Nashville.
Meteorologists with the weather service said 7.01 inches of rain fell at the Nashville airport from Saturday to Sunday. It was the second highest two-day rainfall total ever recorded in the city and the highest ever for a day in March.
Fire and emergency management officials launched boats to rescue about 130 people from homes and vehicles in Nashville alone. Dozens more were rescued in neighboring counties.
March historically is a turbulent month for weather in Tennessee. Last March, tornadoes killed more than 20 people and destroyed more than 140 buildings in Middle Tennessee.
Contributing: The Tennessean; The Associated Press
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