4/14/2024 - 4/20/2024

Climate in the News:

Spring has sprung and with that, the Southern Region gears up for another several days of severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a slight risk for severe weather in the Southern Plains for this Thursday through Saturday. Severe weather is also probable in Southern Plains and the ArkLaTex region through next Monday. All severe hazards are possible with this system, including hail, damaging winds, and a few tornados.

Weather Synopsis:

This past Saturday a stationary front draped itself across the Gulf Coast, bringing steady and sometimes heavy rainfall throughout the Gulf States in the Region. Thunderstorms occurred throughout the day, with the occasional severe storm and associated damaging winds and hail.

Temperature:

Overall, April is when the Region starts to see consistently warmer temperatures. However, regular cold fronts are still common, bringing both rain chances and below-normal temperatures for a few days.

Temperatures were warm last week in the Southern Region. Most of the region favored temperatures above normal, with the exception of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles which experienced temperatures slightly below normal. The highest departures were felt in the southern portions of the Region where temperatures were 5 to 6 degrees above normal. Overall average temperatures for the week ranged between 76 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, being about 5 degrees warmer than the week prior. Weekly average temperatures almost reached as high as 85 degrees in the Lower Rio Grande Valley!

Precipitation:

With the majority of the Region being in a humid subtropical climate, rainfall is common at any point of the year. During the spring months, storm systems are common throughout the south. During April severe storm probabilities are at their highest in Oklahoma and Northeast Texas.

As discussed above, the majority of the precipitation seen last week fell this past Saturday as a result of the stationary boundary in place across the Gulf Coast. Rain also fell throughout the day in Arkansas and Tennessee on Friday. The Brazos Valley in Texas saw significant and sometimes heavy rainfall Saturday resulting in overflowing creeks and flooded roads. In Trinity County Texas, 5.20 inches of rainfall was reported via CoCoRaHS Sunday, 4/21. Overall, looking at weekly rainfall accumulations much of Central Texas into Louisiana saw at least 1.5 inches of rain.