Heavy rain, wind gusts expected to roll into Nashville Thursday night

Natalie Neysa Alund
The Tennessean

A warm day in greater Nashville Thursday will transform into evening storms across the region, forecasters with the National Weather Service in Nashville are predicting.

Forecast for April 18, 2019.

Expect highs in the upper 70s Thursday afternoon in Middle Tennessee, Sam Herron, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Nashville said.

A slight chance of rain may also fall Thursday afternoon but Herron said a heavy dose of storms are expected to roll into the area between 7 p.m. and midnight, accompanied by hard rain and gusty wind.

An overnight low of 50 degrees is predicted, followed by on and off showers into Friday when it will turn a lot cooler.

Expect highs in the low 50s on Friday along with on-and-off showers and a low of 40 degrees.

Saturday morning showers will return to the region but the rain should clear up by the afternoon, Herron said. A forecast of partly cloudy skies in the afternoon and highs in upper 50s is predicted.

Sunday and Monday will warm up: Expect sunny skies with highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 50s.

Tuesday the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 80 degrees.

Wednesday and Thursday — when day one of the three-day 2019 NFL Draft starts in downtown Nashville —  could see a chance of rain with thunderstorms returning. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the 60s are predicted.

"That's seven days out so the forecast isn't 100 percent," Herron said. "This time of year, spring time, can be very changeable. We'll know more as we get closer to that day."

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.