Heavy rain and a chance of severe weather for parts of the Mid-South this weekend

There are plenty of outdoor plans this weekend and, unfortunately, it looks like Mother Nature may get in the way of some of them. In fact, the Arlington in April and Southern Hot Wings Festival have both opted to move to their rain dates on Sunday. The Southaven Springfest at Snowden Grove will continue as scheduled at the time of this writing, including the Dave Matthews concert Saturday night.  And of course, YOUR Memphis Grizzlies play the hated L.A. Clippers on Saturday afternoon at FedExForum. So, here's what to expect.

Low pressure will develop over the southern plains and move in our direction late today through Saturday.  There will be a chance of showers late this afternoon and evening, but the bulk of the rain (and it could be heavy at times) will fall late tonight through Saturday morning. Rainfall amounts could exceed an inch during this period and steady rain may not taper off until late morning. As the low pressure system approaches, more unstable air will work it's way into southern parts of the Mid-South, mainly over north MS, Saturday afternoon and evening. As the low moves nearly overhead, scattered thunderstorms are expected to fire during the afternoon, especially if breaks in the clouds allow temps to climb into the mid 70s or higher. Not everyone will likely see storms, but there is a 50/50 chance of them occurring during the afternoon and evening.

Much of the Mid-South could see up to 2" of rain by Sunday morning from the weekend system.

The Storm Prediction Center indicates that some of these storms over north MS in particular could become severe and has outlined areas south of the TN-MS state line in a slight risk. There is not a high chance of severe weather, but the threat is elevated somewhat in the warm sector of the low pressure system. Hail and damaging wind are the threats from any strong storms. The activity should decrease in intensity and then move out overnight Saturday night and Sunday looks to be a partly sunny, but dry, day with highs back in the mid 70s.

A Slight Risk of severe weather exists Saturday afternoon/evening over north MS, south AR, and north LA.

 MemphisWeather.net intends to nowcast on our social channels below during periods of inclement weather, particularly periods of storms. While you're out and about this weekend, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter streams and be sure to download our MWN mobile app for Android and iPhone for the latest radar, forecast, and severe weather information via StormWatch+. You will also find download links below.

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