Clouds and just a little sunshine this morning (even early fog in a few spots across the mid-state) but warmer weather is on the way.

Highs this afternoon should push into the middle and upper 80s with scattered thunderstorms developing. Not everyone will get rain today (I think coverage will be around 30%) but a few of the storms could have strong wind. If any severe weather is happening anywhere across the mid-state this afternoon, we’ll crawl that on the bottom of the television screen on News 2. You can also click the “Watches and Warnings” icon on the top of the blog.

The “NWS Radar Loop” at the top of the blog lets you check for rain in your part of Middle Tennessee whenever it’s convenient. You can also watch live Storm Tracker radar on the Nashville Wx Channel 24/7.

Have a great weekend!

Wow, I just saw this from the NHC:

615 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

KATRINA NOW A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE WITH 160 MPH WINDS.

AT ABOUT 605 AM CDT… 1105Z… AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT REPORTED THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS IN HURRICANE KATRINA HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 160 MPH. KATRINA IS NOW AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.

Hurricane Katrina strengthened last night and is a major Category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph. She’s moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph and unfortunately she looks solid and doesn’t show any signs of weakening over the next 12 hours.

New Orleans or bust?

The National Hurricane Center puts Katrina in southern Lousiana on Monday morning. I think it’s still tough to call with high confidence - Katrina may make landfall farther east along the Mississippi or even the Alabama coast. It’s frustrating to not be able to definitively say where the eye will hit, but 4 of the 7 computer models I looked at this morning have shifted slightly to the east.

Our effects?

Wherever Katrina hits, the remnants of the storm will bring wind and heavy rain to parts of the Southeast and Mid-South.

If Katrina travels across the mid-state, we’ll have lots of rain and strong wind on Tuesday. Our weather will depend greatly on where Katrina hits. If landfall is east of New Orleans, only parts of the mid-state would have rain showers on Tuesday. 3 of the 7 computer models I looked at this morning say that Katrina will miss us to the southeast, but I’m still going to suggest soaking rain and gusty winds in my seven day forecast. You can check that out at the top of the blog.

We’ll be watching Katrina very closely…I’ll have more posted to the blog about today’s weather in a little bit.

A mix of clouds and sun this morning with temperatures starting off in the lower 70s. Brief sprinkles are possible this morning across the mid-state…but we’ll dry out through the afternoon.

Now: Showers moving through southwest sections of the mid-state around southern Benton, Decatur, Hardin and western Perry County at 6:25 AM.

Later: Scattered t’showers possible through the early afternoon in southern and eastern sections of the mid-state, but most of us will enjoy a dry afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by the blog - have a great weekend!

Huge shifts over the past 24 hours concerning Katrina’s predicted path. More on that in a moment…

This morning: Hurricane is a Category 3 with sustained winds of 115 mph and is moving west at 7 mph. A turn to the west-northwest and some strengthening is predicted over the next 24 hours.

Where?

Given the huge westward shift in the models over the past day or so, my confidence in Katrina’s predicted path isn’t 100%. As you can see above, the National Hurricane Center predicts landfall Monday afternoon in the bayous of southern Louisiana. This would not be good for New Orleans.

At any rate, if you’ve got friends or family from Louisiana to Mobile Bay you’ll want to watch Katrina very closely this weekend. With Gulf water temperatures near 90 degrees, Katrina will cause much more trouble the second time around.

Get more information from the National Hurricane Center.

I’m at home at 7:45 PM watching the thunderstorms roll through western sections of the mid-state on my computer. Heavy rain and some lightning are the main weather threats tonight, but the potential is still there for some 30 to 40 mph wind gusts with the strongest storms.

This is the second round of heavy t’storms today! The first round pushed from southern Kentucky into northern Middle Tennessee, Nashville, and areas east of I-65 during the late morning and early afternoon.

The first round of t’storms seems to have stabilized the atmoshphere in southern Kentucky as well as northern and eastern parts of the mid-state. As the storms approach northern Middle Tennessee they’ve weakened a bit, but lightning and thunder is still likely in Nashville through the next several hours.

Right now:

As I type: a line of thunderstorms stretched along I-40 from Dickson County through Humphreys and Hickman counties, as well as Perry, Benton and Decatur Counties.

For a current look at the radar, click the “NWS Radar Loop” icon at the top of the blog.

Counties with heavy t’storms through 9 o’clock:

Williamson, southwest Davidson, southern Cheatham, Maury, Lewis, Perry, Hickman.

As always:

Lisa and I will keep an eye on the t’storms west of I-65 through the evening. No severe thunderstorm warnings right now, but you can check that at any point tonight by clicking the “Watches and Warnings” icon at the top of the blog.

1:56 PM and some very heavy rain is about to push into the downtown area. It’s moving southeastward (right along I-24) and will bring some lightning and brief strong wind gusts.

If possible I’d avoid driving around Nashville metro for the next hour as we’ll see the usual traffic problems like low visibility and some water ponding on the interstates.

I’ll be watching it on 3-D Storm Tracker, you can watch it by clicking the “NWS Radar Loop” at the top of the blog.

Right now:

It’s 1:16 PM and the thunderstorms in southern Kentucky continue to push southeastward into northern sections of the mid-state. There are no severe thunderstorm warnings at this time but heavy rain, heavy lightning and gusty winds are out there.

The heaviest rain (and areas of gusty wind) was moving through Clarksville, northern Cheatham County and Robertson County. More thunderstorms are pushing east of Nashville through southern Sumner County, Wilson County, Trousdale County and Smith County.

If any severe thunderstorm warnings are issued, we’ll crawl that information on the bottom of the screen on News 2.

As always, the NWS Radar Loop at the top of the blog will give you a current look at t’storms across our area.

If you’ve got it, flaunt it…

The Nashville Wx Channel gives you live Storm Tracker every couple of minutes - perfect for days like this!