Severe flooding, wind warning declared for much of mid-South

The rain is coming down in the South and there is a high likelihood of flash flooding in Arkansas, northern Mississippi and Alabama, and western Tennessee this evening, reports CBS News weather producer David Parkinson. As Wednesday night, there are three separate flash flood warnings that are expected to expire over the next few hours.

Two inches have fallen already and another 2-3 inches are possible by early morning Thursday when the rain ends. Flood watches extend much further. Parts of Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas are included in that general threat for flooding due to the overly saturated ground, Parkinson reports. It stretches from the Dallas metro area, which is also under threat for damaging wind and hail, as well as an isolated tornado or two.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reports that this is the rainiest February ever recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, with rainfall totaling nearly 12 inches as of Wednesday afternoon. Half of that rainfall occurred just in the past week.

NWS urges residents to be on the lookout for potentially severe storms through the night with winds up to 60 mph in some areas.