1st week of September to be a soaker in the southern US

AccuWeather meteorologists say it will be a soggy unofficial end of summer and beyond as downpours frequent the region. Some of the torrential rain will be enhanced by a tropical rainstorm.

AccuWeather meteorologists advise that residents and visitors in the southern United States should keep their umbrellas ready as the calendar flips to September, with a weather pattern bringing frequent downpours expected to continue through next week.

"Persistent winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico will funnel moisture northward across the South through much of the upcoming week. While this will help with the ongoing drought across portions of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, it will also increase the risk for localized flash flooding issues across the region," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

Showers and thunderstorms will tend to congregate and grow in coverage near notable weather features. These include a cold front that will slow down and stall by early next week across the Carolinas, as well as a swirl of clouds in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico which AccuWeather meteorologists dubbed a tropical rainstorm on Friday.

"This tropical rainstorm festering in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico will pose a risk for drenching downpours through Labor Day across portions of coastal Louisiana and Texas, likely impacting holiday plans for many," Buckingham said.

This rainstorm has a low chance of organizing into a tropical depression as it meanders in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico into the new week. Regardless of development, tropical-style impacts of torrential rain and localized flooding will persist over the coming days -- one of the reasons why AccuWeather hurricane experts are referring to this feature as a tropical rainstorm.

"By Labor Day, a swath of moisture with showers, thunderstorms and localized torrential downpours will extend from much of Texas to the southern Atlantic coast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. This includes places such as Houston and perhaps Dallas.

There may be a relative minimum in thunderstorm activity across parts of Mississippi and Alabama, situated between moisture from the tropical rainstorm and the stalled front over the Carolinas, which could allow some outdoor holiday plans to proceed as scheduled.

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Toward the middle and latter part of next week, downpours will tend to slowly wander eastward across the Southern states, including more of the lower Mississippi Valley and interior Southeast.

The wettest spots will likely be over the western Gulf Coast states, where 4-8 inches of rain may fall into the middle of next week, according to Sosnowski.

Drivers planning to travel along sections of interstates 10, 20, and 35 should anticipate slower traffic at times through much of next week due to downpours reducing visibility.

The weather pattern is also unfavorable for beachgoers. In addition to dodging raindrops, those heading to the water will encounter an increased risk of rough surf and more frequent rip currents along both the northwestern Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic Seaboard.

Toward the latter part of next week and heading into next weekend, there is the potential for a tropical feature to track northward from the Caribbean Sea and into the Gulf of Mexico. A separate zone off the Southeast coast, along the stalled front, has been highlighted with a low chance of tropical development late next week.

There is likely to continue to be an enhancement in downpours, especially for coastal communities, heading into next weekend, regardless of whether there are named tropical entities in either waters.

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