1/24/24 230p Weather Update – Rain continues for the next handful of hours, then more rain overnight and tomorrow

A brief update on tonight’s forecast and a peek at tomorrow….

This line of storms will continue to press across the area and become a bit more diffuse and eventually fall apart. The rain will come to an end in our area after midnight.

We will ahve anotehr round of rain try to kick through overnight. This should pass through with little fan-fare. You’ll catch some rain and some rumbles of thunder based on the latest model guidance, but the atmosphere should be pretty well worked-over and not have much ‘umph’ left for severe weather.

The only caveat to that is that if storms line up and train over the same areas, we could see some flooding overnight and into the early morning hours tomorrow. While that is an unlikely outcomes, the chances aren’t zero, sadly, so it si something to monitor.

Then we get another round of rain through the day tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s rain will look a lot like today’s rain, too. Off-and-on again, then a line moves through with some very heavy rain and the chance for some severe weather, and then things come to an end for the day.

By the time we get through the next 48 hours, we are looking at an additional 1″ to 3″ of rain with some spots looking at an additional 7″ of rain possibly.

This means, if you have standing water around your house, that water will likely still be there (albeit, not quite as much) when you wake up. And if things shake out like they are shown in the model guidance, then that water will also be there in the afternoon after more rain kicks through.

Given that today we saw water into homes across parts of Louisiana and southwest Mississippi, I’m growing a bit concerned about that kind of flooding becoming more common in more spots. Particularly if the rainfall overnight lines up and drops a lot of water in some spots.

So please make sure you pay attention when those Flash Flood Warnings are issued. I know many folks get those and go, “okay, now what?” But in this case, it may be a situation where you do need to take action.

When you get those warnings on my app, you can tap over to the currents section to get the warning currently in place for your area. Then tape the warning itself and it will load up a screen with details about the warning from the National Weather Service.

This often comes with actions you can take to protect yourself from the warning.

If overnight you wake up to water around your house and you have no way to get out, FEMA suggests, “Get to the highest level if trapped in a building. Only get on the roof if necessary and once there signal for help. Do not climb into a closed attic to avoid getting trapped by rising floodwater.”

I don’t think that is a likely outcome for anyone tonight, but if the unlikely occurs, just know that seeking higher ground is always the bet bet, but don’t get into an attic if there is no way out.

There are more tips over on out Weather 101: Weather Safety page.