Storms Threaten Friday Night Football in The Pineywoods

A summer cold front is expected to push through East Texas late Friday afternoon, bringing slightly below normal temperatures to close out the month of August.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that downpours and thunderstorms are expected to be widespread across the Pineywoods for the first part of our Labor Day Weekend. This could also be problematic for many of the area's high school football games on Friday night.

READ MORE: Central Heights, Tatum, Beckville Make State Volleyball Rankings

The Weather Outlook for Friday

Even though Flash Flood Warnings have been issued this morning for Shelby and Panola Counties, the official National Weather Service forecast for the Lufkin/Nacogdoches area indicates a rising chance of rain throughout the day.

An isolated storm or two could reach severe limits due to strong straight-line winds.

A 50% chance of storms through lunch will rise to about a 65% during the afternoon hours on Friday. By 7 p.m., those chances will drop to 40% and stay there through the overnight hours.

Even though that's a little encouraging for Friday night football, I'm sure there will be a few delays, at the very least, for some matchups tonight.

The Weather Outlook for Saturday/Sunday

Rain chances will ramp up again during daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Forecasters are showing a 60-65% chance of showers and storms throughout the day on Saturday, and a 40-50% during the same time on Sunday.

1-2 inches of accumulated rainfall could occur across parts of Deep East Texas, with some isolated higher amounts possible. Several weather models are forecasting that a half-foot of rain or more could fall near Abilene.