Weather

Florence is forecast to move in a general west path near the North Carolina and South Carolina border on Saturday. This slow motion and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean will allow torrential rain to fall, as flooding problems escalate from urban and small streams to major rivers. While top wind gusts will diminish, winds are forecast to remain strong enough to knock down trees and cause power outages. Heavy rain is expected to reach the southern Appalachians this weekend and prompt an elevated risk of flash flooding. Eventually, the risk of flooding downpours from Florence will extend across part of the Northeast states next week.

Meanwhile, a warm and humid air mass will extend from the Atlantic Coast to the Plains. Within this zone, most areas outside of Florence’s influence will be free of rain, except for spotty showers in South Florida and torrential downpours in parts of Texas. The Texas rainfall will be associated with a tropical disturbance that moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

Much of the West can expect dry weather and sunshine Saturday. An area of high pressure is forecast to hover near the Four Corners region.

Elsewhere, a swath of clouds and spotty rain is in store over the northern tier states. A temperature boundary is forecast to hover and meander in this zone.

Tropical moisture will continue to stream into the southern third of Texas for the first half of the weekend. The result will be widespread showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall will be heavy with flooding.