Will thunderstorms spoil Memorial Day plans? Here’s the Knoxville holiday weekend forecast

Cookouts and barbecues have been planned for the long Memorial Day weekend. But could the traditional unofficial start of summer events be rained out by storms?

The bad news is you might have to celebrate the holiday indoors this year. But the slight good news is that there will be periods of sunny skies, too; predicting exactly when is the challenge.

The chances for thunderstorms, some severe, in the Knoxville area are pretty high Friday through Monday, the National Weather Service forecasts.

“It's really hard to know the time when exactly the worst storms are gonna be, but it’s basically gonna be the whole weekend,” meteorologist Tim Doyle told Knox News. “There's gonna be a marginal risk for severe storms Friday and Saturday and a more significant risk Sunday and probably into Monday.”

Starting Thursday, multiple rounds of storms will roll through East Tennessee over the holiday weekend, bringing 2-3 inches of rain, gusty winds, and possibly small-sized hail.

There could be a break between Saturday and Sunday, but most of the rainfall and the elevated severe risk will be on Sunday and Monday, Doyle noted. There’s a risk of flooding, too.

What’s the Memorial Day weekend forecast for Knoxville?

There is a 50%-70% chance of rain each day Friday to Monday night, according to NWS Morristown forecast. The storms are expected to dissipate and re-develop as they move through, Doyle said, and timing depends on cloud cover. A sunny morning could mean the storms develop and move out by early evening, but if there’s cloud cover in the morning, storms are likely to develop in the late afternoon and evening.

Here’s the holiday weekend forecast as of May 23:  

Friday: Mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely after 2 p.m. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts could be less than a tenth of an inch.

Friday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 7 p.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm during the early morning, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Saturday Night: Chance of showers and thunderstorms is 30%.

Sunday: Periods of showers likely throughout the day and thunderstorms possible. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Memorial Day: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday Night: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Things could change as Memorial Day approaches. Stay up-to-date with forecasts at weather.gov/mrx and x.com/NWSMorristown.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville weather for Memorial Day: Rain, thunderstorms possible