According to a Tuesday report by the US National Weather Service (NWS), “an upgrade to Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall has been issued for the Upper Tennessee Valley and Cumberland Plateau for Wednesday.”
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern portion of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains and includes parts of eastern Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. A slight risk for excessive rainfall is in place Tuesday for eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and the Upper Ohio Valley, the NWS noted.
In addition, a slight risk of severe weather was issued Tuesday by the Storm Prediction Center to the Lower Mississippi Valley.
The Tennessee Valley Authority reported this week that some of its rivers and lakes had received as much as 400% of their normal rainfall for this time of year, Weather.com reported. A portion of US Highway 80 in Warren County, Mississippi, was closed Tuesday due to heavy rainfall, the Mississippi Department of Transportation tweeted Tuesday. Part of US Highway 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in Tennessee was also closed Tuesday due to a rockslide, Weather.com reported. In addition, several school districts in northern Alabama announced delayed openings on Tuesday due to flooding, local outlet WHNT reported.
According to the NWS, additional rainfall is expected across the Deep South starting Wednesday.
“Overnight into Wednesday morning, rainy conditions across Eastern Texas into southern Arkansas will provide the potential for 2 to 3 inches of rainfall and the potential for flooding/flash flooding conditions to arise,” the NWS warned in a Tuesday release.
In addition, a low pressure center is expected to move across the eastern coast of Texas into western Tennessee, which will likely produce “thunderstorms capable of severe weather,” the NWS added.