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Soaking storms for truckers across eastern US

Periods of torrential rain, flash flooding possible

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Truckers will have to plan ahead and expect delays in the eastern U.S the rest of the week. A slow-moving system will produce repeated periods of heavy rain in places mainly east of the Mississippi River over the next few days. Rain totals in some spots could exceed 5 inches, with locally higher amounts.

There’s potential for scattered flash flooding and road closures, especially in low-lying areas and on secondary routes. It could happen anywhere from parts of the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley, eastward to the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast.

As of 8 a.m. ET Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) had no flash flood watches posted, but this could change.

The silver lining — severe storms will be few and far between. Tornadoes, extremely gusty winds and large hail will be quite isolated, with the best chances coming Thursday from Virgiia to southeastern Pennsylvania.


Thunderstorms and downpours could also return to parts of Texas and Oklahoma later this week.

Other notable weather

Reminder for truckers: Triple-digit heat will continue Wednesday and Thursday from portions of the Northwest to southern Nevada and several parts of California. This includes Spokane, Washington; northern and southwestern Idaho; Las Vegas; southeastern California and the Sacramento Valley. The NWS has issued various heat alerts for these areas.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.