Hurricane Francine aftermath expected in the Mid-South

• See updated coverage for Thursday, Sept 12 here.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Parts of the Mid-South are expected to see heavy rainfall along with strong winds due to the remnants of Hurricane Francine.

The storm made landfall Wednesday evening in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane before travelling north up Interstate 55 to our area.

According to the National Weather Service, isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon over parts of north Mississippi. Rainfall will then spread into the Mid-South, Memphis area later Wednesday night.

Early Thursday morning, widespread rain and strong winds up to 20 mph will begin. At 1 a.m., a flood watch will go into effect until 7 p.m.

WREG’s Todd Demers says he expects the heaviest period of rain to be from about noon Thursday until midnight Thursday. The remnants of Francine will stall over the Memphis area and the rain will continue Friday.

By Saturday, when many will be headed to the Southern Heritage Classic and the Cooper-Young Festival, the rain should be clearing up and moving out of the area. Todd forecasts a 20% chance of rain Saturday.

NWS says four to five inches of rainfall is expected with flash flooding in urban, low-lying, and poor drainage areas.

WREG’s weather experts say to also expect down tree limbs, power outages , and a few spin-up tornadoes.

This story will be updated.

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