New Orleans, Louisiana – After a storm system drenched the Pacific Northwest and California, it is expected to head towards the Southeast, bringing with it severe weather and heavy rainfall. The system is forecasted to bring severe weather threats to Texas on Friday and steady rains to the east throughout the weekend. As a result, the Mardi Gras festivities around New Orleans have had to make scheduling changes.
Steady rains are expected to move across Texas on Friday, with isolated strong to severe thunderstorms possible in the heart of the Lone Star State. The NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has highlighted central Texas, including Austin and San Antonio, at a Level 2 risk out of 5 for severe weather, with damaging wind gusts, large hail, and isolated tornadoes possible from Friday afternoon into the night.
According to FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin, the best chances of severe storms are expected on Friday evening, with lesser probabilities on Saturday and through the weekend. By Saturday, attention will shift from severe weather to flooding along the Gulf Coast, with parts of southeastern Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at an increased risk for excessive rainfall and flooding highlighted by NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center.
The heavy rains have also triggered a need for adjusted Mardi Gras parade schedules in New Orleans, where more than two dozen parades are scheduled from Friday through Sunday. Some parades have had to make changes due to the predicted 3 inches of rain and 35 mph wind gusts on Saturday.
Joey LaCoste of Magical Krewe of Mad Hatters in Metairie, Louisiana, expressed the concern for safety issues due to the large floats potentially attracting lightning during the thunderstorm. The forecast models show a widespread 1-2 inches of rainfall across the South, with some communities potentially seeing upwards of 3-4 inches, and some counties in Mississippi are already under a Flash Flood Watch.
Beneficial rains have cut down on areas suffering from drought conditions, but 88% of Louisiana and 84% of Mississippi are still unusually dry. By Tuesday morning, the entire storm system is expected to be off the East Coast, but with an active southern jet during an El Niño pattern, more chances of precipitation are expected to impact the Gulf Coast.