Knoxville area residents can expect a mixed bag of weather conditions this week, with the National Weather Service forecasting a series of showers and thunderstorms. Today's weather includes a 50 percent chance of precipitation, potentially featuring showers and thunderstorms in the early hours, but skies are expected to clear up somewhat later in the day, reaching highs near 84 degrees with some gusty southwest winds. The transitional weather doesn’t stop there; tonight, increasing clouds and a low around 62 are forecasted, with west winds calming down after midnight, according to NWS, Knoxville.
Looking forward to Sunday, locals should have an eye out for a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms developing after 2 pm, under mostly sunny skies and a high near 82 degrees. As night falls, the chance of showers slightly increases, with the NWS predicting a mostly cloudy evening and a low in lower 60s. The start of the week seems to follow this pattern, as Monday will likely see showers and potential thunderstorms after 11am, with a calm wind turning west.
More severe conditions are expected to roll in by the middle of the week. Tuesday ups the ante with a 60 percent chance of storms that could pour into Tuesday night, becoming more likely with an 80 percent chance of precipitation. The NWS raises concerns for hazardous weather across several regions, including southwest North Carolina, east Tennessee, and southwest Virginia. “Strong to severe storms are moving into the region. Damaging straight line winds up to 70 mph and large hail up to 1.5" are the primary threats along with a low probabilities of tornadoes,” states the Hazardous Weather Outlook by the National Weather Service Morristown TN.
The Service stresses the importance of being prepared and advises the public to have multiple ways to receive watches or warnings, urging the utilization of both NOAA Weather Radios and wireless emergency alerts on cell phones. Alerting to the potential for flooding in specific areas, it adds, “There is a threat of very heavy rainfall leading to flooding especially across SW VA, NE TN and the northern Cumberland Plateau.” Spotters may activated as the situation unfolds, with further developments and precise timings of the storms still cloaked in uncertainty, as reported National Weather Service Morristown TN.
By midweek, Wednesday is looking partly sunny but still carrying a high chance of rain with continued thunderstorms possible after 2pm and a milder high around the mid-70s. This latest bout of wet weather is expected to taper off toward the end of the week, but Knoxville still faces a 40 percent chance of showers Thursday, followed by a lesser 20 percent chance of rain Friday as conditions begin to clear up to mostly sunny skies.
