June 14 --
After the south-central United States was graced with a stretch of generally dry weather, rounds of heavy rain, drenching thunderstorms and threats of flooding are set to return this weekend and last into next week.
A front draped across the north-central Plains and Midwest through Saturday will sag southward later in the weekend before stalling across the south-central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley early next week. This frontal boundary will serve as the train tracks along which complexes of thunderstorms can travel.
Multiple disturbances moving out of the Four Corners region will be the triggering mechanism for the rounds of thunderstorms.
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The areas forecast to be hardest hit stretch from northeastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma to much of Arkansas and southwestern Missouri.
It's in these areas as many as 8 inches of rain could fall. Outside of these areas in cities such as St. Louis; Dallas; Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind.; Louisville and Paducah, Ky.; and Cincinnati, 2 to 4 inches of rain will be more common.
Additional rainfall is the exact opposite of what these flood-ravaged areas need.
The growing season has already been put on hold across a large part of the mid-Mississippi Valley due to ongoing major flooding along the Mississippi River, and farmers are running out of time to plant many types of crops.
Major flooding is still ongoing on the Mississippi River from the Iowa-Illinois border to southeastern Missouri, and many gauges along the Missouri and Arkansas rivers are still in minor to moderate flood stage.
The upcoming deluge may not only threaten to completely wipe out any remaining chances people have to plant certain crops, but also trigger a new round of flash flooding issues on smaller streams and creeks.
The floodwaters from these smaller tributaries will ultimately flow into the Mississippi and, at the very least, temporarily prevent the water level from continuing to fall and delay the point at which the devastating flooding finally ends.
Motorists traveling on portions of interstates 20, 35, 40, 44 and 70 that lie within the threat zone should be aware of rapid changes in roadway visibility and reduce speeds in blinding downpours or if standing water is present on the roadway.
In addition, some of the storms from Saturday afternoon into Sunday could turn severe across a large portion of the southern Plains and south-central states and threaten to put an end to any outdoor Father's Day celebrations.
Although coverage of any severe storms is currently expected to be isolated, damaging wind gusts and large hail cannot be ruled out on a local scale. Power outages, as well as tree and power line damage, can occur in a few spots.
As is the case with most violent and destructive storms in June, an isolated tornado or two can briefly spin up.
Unfortunately, any breaks in the active weather pattern look to be short-lived through the next two weeks, with more rounds of soaking rain and strong thunderstorms on the horizon by next weekend.
