“The feature has a history of producing upwards of a half a foot of rain in parts of the Florida Panhandle over the weekend.”

A very slow-moving disturbance will continue to drench the upper Gulf of Mexico coast through much of this week.

An area of disturbed weather moving very slowly around the massive high pressure and extreme heat to the north will drop torrential downpours from parts of Texas to parts of Florida during the balance of this week.

The unsettled weather actually the combination of an old surface front, a gulf breeze front and a pocket of slightly cooler air aloft will generate towering clouds capable of dropping very heavy rainfall and locally gusty thunderstorms.

The feature is not part of Bret, which lies on the Atlantic side of Florida.

New Orleans will continue to be affected by this system into this evening. However, other cities are likely to join in from Pensacola to Houston as the area of disturbed weather stretches out.

It is possible that some of the downpours find there way as far west and south as San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Laredo, Texas, bringing temporary relief from the heat and drought.

Downpours and gusty storms from the feature can be disruptive. Torrential downpours can lead to flash and urban flooding, while slowing roadway travel. Thunderstorms in the vicinity of airports can lead to substantial flight delays.

The feature has a history of producing upwards of a half a foot of rain in parts of the Florida Panhandle over the weekend.

From 1.00 to 2.00 inches of rain were common from southern Alabama to southeastern Louisiana.

The rain is desperately needed in the region, especially as you progress westward into Texas.

Houston has only received about 8.00 inches of rain since the first of the year, which is just over 30 percent of their normal rainfall for the period.

San Antonio has picked up less than 6.00 inches of rain since Jan. 1.

While the massive area of high pressure continues to pump tremendous hot air over the middle of the nation, areas on the fringes of this high can get beneficial rainfall.

Essentially, the weakest part of the high is on its fringes and that is where thunderstorms like to form.

The high is a large area of hot air, not only at the surface, but aloft. Thunderstorms tend to from where air is cool aloft, or on the fringes of the sea of hot air.