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Rain Saturates The South

February 19, 2020

February 19, 2020

GOES East limb view of an atmospheric river over the United States

On Feb. 19, 2020, the GOES-East satellite viewed an ongoing storm system in the South, where an atmospheric river (AR) weather pattern is pumping more moisture in the region from the eastern Pacific. NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) states that more rain is likely across parts of the South during Wednesday and Thursday, where the soil is already saturated “from recent heavy rain with ongoing major to historic river flooding.”

While ARs usually bring heavy rain to the West Coast of the US, this particular AR is setting up farther south, over the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. This set-up is exacerbating the very soggy conditions in the South, where the Mississippi River Valley and Gulf coast have been experiencing intermittent heavy rain since Feb. 11. Forecasters expect the heavy rain, which briefly relented during the Valentine’s Day weekend, to resume and continue until later Thursday evening. The cause of the rain, a cold front draped along an active jet stream that is carrying moisture from the Pacific Ocean over to the Southeast, will bring the continued threat for flooding to areas around the Mississippi River Valley , with southern Illinois experiencing some of the most severe effects.

The GOES East geostationary satellite, also known as GOES-16, keeps watch over most of North America, including the continental United States and Mexico, as well as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Africa. The satellite's high-resolution imagery provides optimal viewing of severe weather events, including thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes.