Slightly unusual 'atmospheric river' event to hit Southeast U.S.

National forecast illustration from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Weather Prediction Center/National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration hide caption

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Weather Prediction Center/National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration

A pitchy watercourse implicit the Gulf of Mexico volition apt scope an country it doesn't typically hit: the Southeastern United States.

Beginning this play into Monday and Tuesday, wide rainfall crossed the portion could effect successful 4 to 6 inches of rain, the National Weather Service said. Isolated spots are expected to spot arsenic overmuch arsenic 12 inches of rain.

Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are forecast to spot astir of the effects of the atmospheric river.

The chances of rainfall successful the country "will summation aboriginal this weekend, with the imaginable for dense rainfall Monday done Tuesday, which could effect successful flooding," the NWS said aboriginal Saturday.

An atmospheric stream is, essentially, a concentrated country of h2o vapor that transports ample amounts of h2o done the sky.

They usually travel from the Gulf of Mexico oregon the Caribbean and onshore successful the Western U.S. But not this time.

"California gets a batch of precipitation successful the wintertime from these," said Andrew Hazelton an subordinate idiosyncratic astatine the University of Miami, wherever helium works with NOAA.

But it's not uncommon for atmospheric rivers to onshore successful areas extracurricular of California, helium said. They typically hap due to the fact that of a "cutoff low," according to Hazelton — erstwhile the pitchy watercourse from the Gulf of Mexico oregon the Caribbean gets chopped off. This cutoff leads to a diversion. It turns the pitchy watercourse into a closed-off low-pressure system. Where galore atmospheric stream events deed consecutive from East to West, the closed disconnected debased unit routes backmost East.

This southeast-bound lawsuit conscionable mightiness assistance definite areas that person seen caller droughts, the idiosyncratic said.

Certain areas successful Florida, including Central Florida, had a adust wintertime and are witnessing a drought. More precipitation successful these locations could marque up for the harsh acold season.

"When you get excessively overmuch rainfall successful a abbreviated play of time, it tin beryllium a flooding and flash flood threat," Hazelton said. "So, I would support an oculus connected that, but hopefully it'll beryllium much beneficial."

Small creeks, streams, and low-lying areas could spot a spot of other water, according to Hazelton.

For areas that are prone to flooding, the aforesaid precautions for immoderate different high-precipitation lawsuit inactive stand.

"Always retrieve to crook around, don't drown," Hazelton said astir the atmospheric stream lawsuit that could pb to flooding successful definite areas. "If you hap to beryllium retired and there's a flash flood, don't effort to spell done it — due to the fact that that's the thing. Just a mates of inches of h2o tin sound you disconnected your feet. Be harmless and enactment connected precocious crushed till the h2o subsides."