Relentless Rain Fuels Multiday Southeast Flood Threat

Showers and storms continue across the Southeast, bringing concerns for flooding, especially across urban and low-lying areas.

But it is not all bad news: As we make our way into the weekend, the rain is expected to get less widespread. So if you see the sun, go out and enjoy it.

Here's where rain is currently falling:

Friday

The heaviest rainfall shifts for Friday, stretching from Arkansas and Tennessee to Georgia and Florida.

Cities to see more rain than sun: Little Rock, Nashville, Atlanta, Jacksonville

Cities to see more sun than rain: Dallas, Houston, Charlotte

Saturday

The showers and thunderstorms begin to get less widespread by Saturday. Places from Tennessee to north Florida will still be wet, but the weather is expected to clear up from Texas to Mississippi.

Cities to see more rain than sun: Atlanta, Charleston, Orlando, Birmingham

Cities to see more sun than rain: Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, New Orleans

How Much Rain?

These totals on the map below are not too scary — only a couple of inches are in the forecast for the next several days.

But check out the map below, which shows the rainfall over the past 7 days. Totals have been impressive to say the least. These soils are saturated, so it will not take much rainfall to cause more flooding.

Here's The Reason

The "Omega block" is partially responsible for the stubborn rainfall, but we also have to talk about this high-pressure system sitting off the Atlantic coast. It continues to pump moisture north of the Gulf, so we have plenty of moisture.

The rain is expected to last through the weekend before a cold front comes and kicks out this stubborn pattern.

Enjoy the sun — when you see it.

Rob Shackelford is a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.