Severe storms possible Wednesday night
With much of our area seeing rain throughout the day and more storms possible tonight, flooding is of concern in the near future. A Flood Watch has been issued through early Thursday morning for most of SEMO and parts of southern Illinois and far western Kentucky.
Especially in spots that see repeated rounds of rain through early Thursday, it won’t take much for spots to flood. Rainfall amounts through the period could be on the order of 1-3″.
As mentioned before, we have seen showers throughout the afternoon on Wednesday. The latest thought is that because of cooler temperatures with this activity, we may be limited for instability and ingredients needed for storms later.
The better chances look to be south of Cape Girardeau and Paducah tonight. The most recent update from the Storm Prediction Center has much of the area under an Enhanced (Level 3 of 5) risk for severe weather, with more widespread severe storms possible. Damaging winds appear to be the main threat, but other modes of severe weather will also be possible.
The threats tonight are not to be taken lightly. Other than the worry of more flooding, there is the potential for tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. There is a 10 percent chance of seeing a tornado within 25 miles of a point in the area shaded in yellow (below) with the darker lines indicating a large tornado could be supported in the right environment.
As for damaging winds tonight, that will be another primary concern with storms that develop and continue across southern SEMO and southwest Kentucky. Winds of 75 mph or higher are especially possible through the darker line hatching.
As for large hail, any discrete storms that form under these conditions will not only support a tornado threat, but also large hailstones. Be prepared for all modes of severe weather Wednesday night.
The timing of severe weather looks to come for Cape Girardeau after 7 p.m., moving through and done before midnight. The best chance comes for those who see a break in some of the rain to allow for some heating before the chance for severe weather by this evening. We’ll be keeping a close eye for any watches to come in the hours leading up to the event.
More moisture in the forecast means a higher category for mosquitos as they thrive in the humidity. We’ll be in the “High” category through the end of the week with temperatures on teh cooler side Thursday. But dew point temperatures by Saturday look to return to the upper 70s and low 80s.
Other that some linger activity possible into early Thursday, we should be mostly sunny for the rest of the work week. Storms will be possible again by late Friday into Saturday.
Again, be sure to stay with the FOX 23 Storm Alert Team for the latest updates especially with the risk for severe weather in the near future.
Meteorologist Jessica Blum
FOX 23 Storm Alert Team
