We have some rain on the way. The storm system that is now producing severe storms & widespread flooding from Texas to the Ohio Valley & eventually heavy snow in New England will affect the First Coast by Wed. night. In advance of the system, temps. Wed. afternoon will soar into the 80s with gusty southwest winds. A band of showers with perhaps a few lightning strikes will move west to east across the area Wed. evening & overnight. Rainfall should average a half inch or less with a couple spots possibly picking up a little more. The severe threat appears low as the upper level "energy" will be lifting well north of the area while weakening at the same time...moisture will only be adequate....instability will be limited...& temps. will be falling some since it'll be nighttime.
Easter weekend is a bit of a forecasting enigma right now. It appears a storm system of some sort won't be too far from the First Coast. Looks like we'll have a mild Sat. with a small chance of rain then a somewhat better chance for showers Sat. night into Sun. Forecast models widely vary on this system which is not even onshore out west yet, so the forecast will be subject to change. Exact track & intensity of the system will dictate our weather in the end.
"Flood Safety Awareness Week" is underway. Flooding is a sort of "sneaky" killer but claims more Americans each yr. -- on avg. -- than hurricanes & tornadoes.
Topics covered by the Nat. Weather Service:
-- Monday: Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service
-- Tuesday: Turn Around Don't Drown (TADD) Campaign
-- Wednesday: Floods and Other Related Phenomena
-- Thursday: Flood Insurance
-- Friday: Flood Safety
Click here for info. The map below shows rivers "in flood" -- lots of problems in the middle part of the U.S. A total of 89 gauges (as of this writing) are in some state of flood in the lower 48 -- yellow is near flood stage...yellow is near flood stage...orange is minor flooding...& red is moderate flooding...pink is major flooding. (Might need to hit "refresh").
Dramatic video & photos continue to stream out of Atlanta after Fri. night's tornado. Pretty wild video can be found on CNN's website showing a horse-drawn carriage downtown breaking loose from the carriage as it's frightened by the storm as debris flies down the street. The horse was fine & eventually was returned to its owner.
The photos below are from Atlanta & taken by Scott McGhee, a friend of a producer here at CBS47/FOX30. Photo #1 is building damage downtown & #2 shows boarded windows
in the Omni Hotel.
A big hello to the 2nd graders at San Juan Del Rio School, Fruit Cove. I was there today talkin' weather & they knew there stuff! Great group of kids.
