A potential multiday severe weather outbreak has tens of millions of people in more than 25 states on alert for powerful thunderstorms capable of producing large hail, damaging wind gusts and even some tornadoes starting Friday.
The FOX Forecast Center said it is most concerned about what could potentially happen this weekend, but severe thunderstorms are also possible on Wednesday and Thursday across portions of the Ark-La-Tex, Deep South and Gulf Coast.
On Wednesday, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted portions of the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley where strong to severe thunderstorms could cause some disruptions.
More than 4 million people in southeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, western Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana have been placed in a level 2 out of 5 risk on the SPC’s severe thunderstorm risk scale.
The main threats from thunderstorms that develop on Wednesday will be large hail and damaging winds. The SPC said there is the potential for some supercell thunderstorms to develop across the region, and that’s where the large hail threat would be highest.
On Thursday, the severe weather threat then shifts to portions of eastern Mississippi, Alabama, western Georgia and the western Florida Panhandle, including cities like Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham in Alabama.
Currently, that region is in a level 1 out of 5 threat.
The FOX Forecast Center said the potential multiday severe weather outbreak could kick off on Friday, with much of the activity picking up during the afternoon and continuing into the overnight hours as the storm system intensifies across the central U.S.
Forecasters said a rapidly strengthening low-pressure system will track across the central Plains, dragging a strong cold front along with it.
Ahead of that, moisture from the Gulf will be pulled northward into the lower and mid-Mississippi Valley and maybe even as far north as Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
The FOX Forecast Center said that from the Ark-La-Tex region into the lower Mississippi Valley, more moisture will combine with wind shear – the change in wind speed and direction with height – creating a favorable setup for all severe weather threats.
In addition, supercell thunderstorms and a fast-moving squall line are also possible, bringing the threats of damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.
Some of those tornadoes could be strong (EF-2 or higher).
Currently, it looks like cities such as St. Louis, Memphis in Tennessee and Little Rock in Arkansas could see the highest risk.
The SPC placed more than 13 million people from northern Mississippi to Illinois in a level 3 out of 5 threat.
New Orleans, Atlanta on alert for powerful thunderstorms on Saturday
The powerful storm system will continue to move off to the east on Saturday, placing tens of millions of people from the Gulf Coast to the southern Great Lakes at risk of strong to severe thunderstorms.
Questions remain with regard to how the atmosphere will destabilize on Saturday, particularly in areas farther north.
However, the FOX Forecast Center said a corridor of rich Gulf moisture is expected to set up from central and southern Mississippi into northern Alabama, creating a favorable environment for severe weather ahead of the surging cold front.
With some strong wind shear in place, conditions will allow for the development of supercell thunderstorms and the eventual development of another fast-moving squall line.
Thunderstorms could again produce hail, damaging winds and tornadoes, and torrential rain could lead to some flooding issues.
Currently, the SPC has placed more than 18 million people from Louisiana to the Tennessee Valley in a level 3 out of 5 risk of severe weather.
This includes cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana, Birmingham and Montgomery in Alabama and Atlanta in Georgia.
Nearly 45 million from Florida to Northeast face severe weather threat on Sunday
On Sunday, an area of concern has emerged for tens of millions of people along the East Coast, including the heavily traveled Interstate 95 corridor from the Southeast and mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.
“Sunday’s severe threat, while expansive, the threat for hail and tornadoes drops and is just a damaging wind threat,” the FOX Forecast Center said.
The SPC has placed nearly 45 million people from northern Florida to New Jersey in a level 2 out of 5 threat for severe weather on Sunday.
This includes many major cities, such as Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Washington; Baltimore and Philadelphia.
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