Drenching storms will raise flash flood risk across central US through week

Thunderstorms may unleash more rain than what typically falls during an entire month as a stalled out weather pattern brings repeated downpours to the nation's midsection.

Although some of the region could use the rain due to pockets of dryness, forecasters expect too much rain to fall in too short of a time frame.

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"A wide swath of the central United States from Nebraska and Kansas, to Kentucky and Tennessee, will likely encounter flash flooding issues into the weekend," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert.

Gilbert added that these flash flooding problems would be a result of a stalled front draped over the region, which will bring rounds of drenching rain and thunderstorms each day through Saturday. In addition to being repetitive, the downpours are likely to be slow moving.

"These storms will have an abundance of moisture to tap into in order to produce periods of very heavy rainfall. The Ozarks of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, may be one such area caught in the crosshairs of torrential storms," Gilbert said.

Other areas at risk for rounds of downpours and flash flooding into the weekend include Lincoln, Nebraska; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri and Nashville, Tennessee.

On Monday night, rainfall rates of over 2 inches per hour were recorded just west of Oklahoma City, giving an indication of how moisture-loaded the atmosphere is over the region.

Such rainfall rates are too high for the ground to absorb the water, causing an excess of runoff. Creeks and streams can quickly overflow their banks and flood neighboring land and homes.

"Motorists are advised to never attempt to cross flooded roadways, as unseen dangers lurk beneath floodwaters," Gilbert said.

Such dangers include the roadway underneath being washed out, or the water being deeper than it appears.

Drivers on stretches of interstates 40, 44, 55, 70 and 80 could face pooling of water along sections that drain poorly, as well as reductions in visibility and a heightened risk of hydroplaning while traveling at highway speeds.

In total during the stretch, it is not out of the question for some areas to have up to 6 inches of rainfall. To put this type of rain in perspective, this is more than most of the bigger metro areas in the outlined area normally receive during July and August combined.

Farmers are likely to have a difficult time finding long enough dry spells to work in the fields, and residents hoping to spend time outdoors are likely to have plans disrupted.

While flash flooding will be the greatest hazard present in the pattern, AccuWeather meteorologists cannot rule out locally gusty to severe thunderstorms. Even if a thunderstorm causes wind gusts of less than 58 mph (the minimum wind gust for a thunderstorm to be considered severe), the risk of downed trees will increase as the ground becomes increasingly saturated.

Early indications point toward the stalled out pattern slowly breaking down over the Central states during the first weekend of August, with the downpours shifting eastward toward the Ohio Valley and Northeast.

Meanwhile, the tropics are at it again as Tropical Storm Isaias eyes Hispaniola on Thursday. The system could make a run at Florida by this weekend.

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