Rain to End 2012 and Start 2013 in the South

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

December 31,2012; 10:45AM,EST

A storm will bring rain from East Texas into the Southeast for the last day of 2012 and first days of 2013.
A storm developed in New Mexico during the early morning of New Year's Eve, pushing rain into Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Through the afternoon, rain will push into Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee as well. The rain in South Texas and Louisiana will be accompanied by thunder, mainly in the afternoon and into the evening.
Unlike the thunderstorms that terrorized this area on Christmas Day, these storms are not expected to be severe.
However, heavier rain, especially in a thunderstorm, has the potential to reduce visibility and make for challenging travel. Motorists should use caution when driving in these areas.

For ringing in the new year, rainy weather will continue in the southern Plains, and spread east through Alabama and Kentucky on Monday night.
The year 2013 will start off with rain from southern Texas into northeastern Virginia as the storm moves eastward during the day on Tuesday. Along the Gulf Coast, rain and showers will continue into midweek.

Although this rain will make for a soggy holiday, a light, steady rain may help to alleviate the extreme droughts in southern Texas and lesser severe droughts in eastern Texas and Louisiana.
The center of the country has experienced drought conditions since early this past summer. High pressure that persisted for much of May, June and July kept it hot and mainly dry from Denver to Dallas.
The lighter and constant rain through this week, rather than one day's bursts of drenching rain in a thunderstorm, will allow the rain to sink into the ground.
While this rain is not anticipated to erase drought conditions completely, it should help to lessen the effect for the start of 2013.