After a Tropical Storm Francine will move to the northeast tonight before halting on Friday. This will make it difficult to predict where the heaviest rain bands will be on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, several lesser storms are expected along the outermost belt, most likely between Jackson and the Tennessee River. Showers will come and go, and there will be dry spells lasting a few hours. The system will weaken and move to the southeast throughout the weekend, but most areas will still receive 1-3 inches of rain before the weekend ends.
If you have plans for the weekend, Sunday appears better than Saturday right now. We’ll break it down for you and provide the most recent prediction information right here.
THIS WEEK:
After plunging to the 50s earlier in the week, we had one final warm day on Wednesday. Warmer mornings are also on the way, but afternoon temperatures will remain cold beneath dense clouds beginning Thursday. The winds will gust Thursday night before slowing down on Friday. The skies will be gloomy tonight and into the weekend for the majority of West Tennessee. We may not see much sunlight for 4-5 days in succession.
Heavy rain and strong winds will arrive on Thursday and continue tonight. The wind and rain will pick up as the evening progresses. The rain and breezy weather will last all day Friday but will try to break up some on Saturday. Currently, the most difficult aspect of the prediction is predicting when the storm will move out. The forecast predicts 2-4 inches of rain for everyone. Some locations are likely to get much higher quantities. On top of the heavy rain, many of us will likely see gusts of up to 40 MPH on Thursday!
There is also a risk of tornadoes on Francine’s outer bands, but where they are most likely to develop is something we will monitor over the next 48 hours, and they do not appear to be in our viewing region right now. The most likely locations for spin-up tornadoes connected with a tropical system are east of the center on the outer bands and east of the Tennessee River.
Highs will only reach the low to mid-70s by the end of the week, with morning lows hovering around the mid-60s. We expect it to be fairly gusty on Thursday and probably Friday when the system moves through. From Wednesday afternoon until late in the weekend, the sun is unlikely to appear.
THE WEEKEND:
Rain showers will most certainly linger around for the start of the weekend, but will either move out Saturday afternoon or possibly not until Sunday morning. Clouds will also be present for the majority of the weekend, and while some sunshine may return on Sunday, the clouds may remain for the majority of the day.
This weekend, highs will reach the low 80s, with morning lows remaining in the low to mid-60s. If you have weekend plans, Sunday now appears to be a better day for outdoor activities than Saturday.