Updated Nov. 5, 2019 3:00 PM
A storm system that will eventually bring a disruptive snowfall and usher in much colder weather across the eastern United States will develop as a rainstorm in the southern Plains during the middle of this week.
Rain, as well as a few thunderstorms, will break out during the day Wednesday from northern Texas through Oklahoma into the Ozarks and will become heavy later in the day Wednesday through Wednesday night and into the first part of Thursday.
"Warm, moist air will flow from the Gulf of Mexico across the southern Plains Tuesday into Wednesday, while bitter cold will push southward across the northern and central Plains. This will create a sharp temperature boundary across the region," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
A disturbance moving eastward out of the Southwest will move along this boundary, tipping the scales toward the development of the next potent storm system.
The heaviest rain is expected to fall in a corridor from the Red River Valley through much of southern and eastern Oklahoma and into northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Generally 1-3 inches of rain is expected in this region, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 5 inches.
Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, will endure a thorough soaking from Wednesday into Thursday morning.
"The Thursday morning commute in these areas will likely feature poor visibility and some ponding on roadways as the persistent dousing continues," Danny Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said.
Smaller creeks and streams will also rise rapidly and may overflow their banks for a time Wednesday night into Thursday morning. However, flooding on larger rivers in the region is not anticipated.
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As the center of the storm system slides northeastward through Thursday, the rain in the South will begin to accelerate. The heavy rainfall will also become less widespread as it shifts to the south and east.
Still downpours and some thunderstorms will threaten places like Houston, Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, by the Thursday evening commute.
"While rainfall totals farther south and east will be much less than what falls across portions of Oklahoma, northern Texas, Arkansas and southern Missouri, a period of steady rain and some brief downpours can still cause some travel delays from southeastern Texas through the Deep South later Thursday," Matt Benz, AccuWeather meteorologist, said.
The rain and storms will continue to push south and east through Thursday night, exiting off the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coasts by Friday morning.
A couple of rounds of much colder weather will follow in the rainstorm's wake.
As the cold filters into the South on the backside of the system, frozen precipitation is not expected to be a major concern. However, enough cold air may arrive soon enough in portions of western Kansas and southeastern Colorado into the northern Texas Panhandle to lead to a change from light rain to some light freezing rain and drizzle and snow flurries Wednesday night.
"There could be a few slick spots around Dodge City, Kansas, and Amarillo, Texas, first thing Thursday morning," Pydynowski said.
"Even if precipitation does end before temperatures fall below freezing in these areas, the colder air could also cause some wet surfaces to become icy."
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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