CW3E Event Summary: 1-7 April 2025 East Coast ARs

9 April 2025

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Multiple ARs over the Southeastern US Fuel Prolific Flooding in the Mid-South

  • A series of multiple atmospheric rivers (ARs) made landfall over the Southeastern US between Tue 1 Apr and Mon 7 Apr providing significant moisture which supported heavy rainfall over the Mid-South, causing widespread flooding over the region.

The ARs:

  • Multiple ARs moved onshore over the Southeastern US beginning Tue 1 Apr, each associated with pulses of moisture sourced over the Gulf, with IVT > 250 kg m-1 s-1 over the Mid-South until the system began to move offshore the East Coast on Mon 7 Apr.
  • A maximum IVT > 1,400 kg m-1 s-1 was analyzed at 00Z on 3 Apr along the Arkansas/Tennessee border where heavy rain fell.
  • These ARs were associated with a stalled synoptic pattern over the Central US, with a relatively stationary mid-level trough providing favorable forcing for ascent along the region of highest moisture transport, leading to heavy rainfall in the Mid-South

Impacts:

  • The ARs resulted in widespread 5-day precipitation totals between 5–10 inches over the Mid-South, with localized precipitation totals greater than 10–15 inches over Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, northwestern Tennessee, and western Kansas.
  • Significant river level rises have been observed within the Ohio and Mississippi River basins, with some rivers forecast to continue rising due to long streamflow response times in the region. NWS Flood Warnings remain in effect for some locations.
  • National Weather Service offices issued thousands of watches, warnings, and advisories for flood and flash flood hazards over the Mid-South due to the prolonged rainfall, with hundreds of flood-related Local Storm Reports received.
  • These ARs were associated with a multi-day severe weather outbreak over the region, with multiple tornadoes.

Click images to see loops of GFS IVT/IWV analyses

Valid 1200 UTC 1 April – 1200 UTC 7 April 2025


 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary provided by S. Bartlett, C. Castellano, J. Cordeira, and M. Steen; 9 April 2025

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