Dunklin County braces for weekend deluge with flash flooding risk

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Heavy downpours and the possibility of flash flooding is on tap for the Dunklin County area beginning Friday night, a National Weather Service forecaster said Wednesday.

And the threat of winter weather being ushered in next week is a possibility.

"Rainy on Wednesday," said NWS Meterologist Scott McNeil. "Then we'll have a couple of dry days.

"Saturday, it looks the rain will ramp back up," he added. "Late Friday night, before sunrise on Saturday. Then we're looking at showers and thunderstorms all day Saturday."

McNeil said Dunklin County might experience up to four inches of rain this weekend.

"Which could result in flash flooding," the forecaster said. "And aerial flooding.

"That threat will continue right into Saturday night," he continued. "So from early morning Saturday, all the way through Saturday evening, we're looking at showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain, flash flooding and aerial flooding. We're increasingly concerned about the flash flooding on Saturday. That's the main story for Dunklin County."

The meteorologist explained how that develops.

"All you need is for a front to stall," he noted. "Then, with all the Gulf moisture, you can get these kinds of setups.

"Of course, it's not going to happen every week," he added. "I would call it typical but infrequent."

And next week brings the probability of real winter weather, McNeil reported.

"The next thing is, after that system moves through, it cools down and dries up for a few days," he explained. "And then we have an interesting pattern setting up for next week.

"More winter-like, below normal temperatures," the forecaster continued. "Throw below normal in with a couple of systems, and we have the threat of winter precipitation moving in for the mid-week period."

Temperatures "could potentially be cold enough to see some winter precipitation," McNeil observed.

"If the timing is right, we could see some real winter weather mid-week," he said. "It's a little early to get down to how much or where.

"But the threat is definitely there for some mid-week precipitation," McNeil added. "It's a very exciting week for weather."