The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a potent late-week storm that is expected to bring a threat of severe thunderstorms to the South as heavy rain and some snow spread up the East Coast.
An area of low pressure is predicted to slide out of the Rockies and into the Plains by midweek, then track into the Midwest, South and East during the latter part of the workweek.
Confidence is increasing that a widespread area of rain will develop from the Great Lakes to the Southeast Thursday and Friday. Thunderstorms are likely in the Southeast, where there will be a risk of severe weather, especially Thursday afternoon and evening across parts of Alabama and Georgia.
An initial round of isolated strong to severe storms is possible Wednesday night and into early Thursday morning from parts of East Texas and eastern Oklahoma to the lower Mississippi Valley and mid-South.
Damaging wind gusts are the primary concern, but some hail and a brief tornado or two are not ruled out.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, Thursday afternoon and evening will have the greatest risk of severe weather as a cold front sweeps eastward across the Southeast.
Large portions of Alabama and Georgia, including the Atlanta metro area, will face the threat of severe thunderstorms packing damaging wind gusts. An isolated tornado also cannot be ruled out.
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“We already have a level 2 out of 5 threat for the areas shaded in red,” FOX Weather meteorologist Kendall Smith said. “This does include Atlanta, as well as Birmingham and Montgomery, and then that level 1 threat extends as far as New Orleans, Jackson, Hattiesburg, Knoxville, so some of the exact same locations that have been dealing with severe weather over the past several weeks.”
This storm system will push east Friday and Saturday, with a widespread area of rain stretching from Maine to Florida.
The rain will likely be heavy at times, and some embedded thunderstorms are possible.
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As cold air wraps into the back side of the storm, the FOX Forecast Center said there will likely be a band of snow that develops somewhere in the Northeast. However, it remains unclear how far south the cold air will extend, which will be key in determining the extent of any winter weather impacts late this week and into the weekend.
“As it moves up into the Northeast, we’re going to see that coastal low develop, and the position of that low is key on funneling in that colder air,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jane Minar explained. “Bringing that colder air closer to that I-95 corridor is going to increase our chances of seeing snow in places like New York City, Boston, even down into Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. If that low-pressure system tracks a little bit closer to the coastline, then unfortunately, more warm air is going to get wrapped in and we’re really just talking a rain event.”
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In general, at least portions of the interior Northeast should see a bit of accumulating snow from this storm system, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Be sure to check back with FOX Weather for updates over the coming days as the forecast details come into focus.