Severe Storms To Persist For Millions Tuesday
An outbreak of severe weather will continue for one more day as it brings the risk of strong tornadoes, widespread damaging winds, hail and flooding rain to portions of the Midwest and South on Tuesday.
(MORE: Tornado Safety Tips | What If No Basement | Dangers Of Severe Thunderstorms)
Happening Now
Tornado watches are in effect in parts of the South into this evening from northern Mississippi to the Appalachians, including some areas hit by severe weather multiple times since late last week. A tornado watch is also in effect in parts of Illinois and Indiana.
So far Tuesday, we’ve had a brief tornado with some tree damage in the far northwest corner of Alabama near Waterloo, a brief tornado just southwest of Springfield, Illinois, as well as some trees downed by thunderstorm winds in Marshall County, Mississippi, and Hardin County, Tennessee, this morning. A tornado touched down near Jackon, Tennessee, Tuesday afternoon.
Below is a look at the latest radar along with any ongoing watches and/or warnings.
(MORE: Maps To Track The Storms)
Forecast
-Through Tuesday Night: The severe weather threat will stretch across the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys, with the greatest risk in red (below) from Kentucky, Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, northern Alabama and northwestern Georgia. Severe weather could occur in multiple rounds across these areas.
Supercell thunderstorms could pack a strong tornado threat (EF2 or greater damage). Widespread wind damage is also a concern, especially this evening as storms form into lines or clusters.
Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; and Tupelo, Mississippi, are some of the cities that should keep up to date on possible severe weather. Severe storms could reach as far south and east as Atlanta in the evening or overnight.
Tuesday’s Severe Weather Forecast
(Shaded on the map above is the likelihood of severe thunderstorms, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Note that not all categories apply for the severe weather risk on a particular day.)
-After Tuesday: A pattern change will allow the threat of severe weather to trend downward across much of the U.S. as we enter the second half of the week. However, there could be a lingering isolated threat of severe storms along the Southeast Coast and parts of Virginia on Wednesday. Scattered severe storms could also fire up in the Southern and Central Plains late this week into the weekend.
Severe Weather Recap
This rash of severe weather began in the Great Lakes and Midwest Thursday, then heavily impacted the Midwest, South and East Friday.
There was a bit of a lull on Saturday with some severe storms impacting the South. Now, we are in the midst of another round that first began in the Plains Sunday.
Combined, there were more than 90 reports of tornadoes from Thursday through Sunday.
Notable tornadoes included:
-An EF2 in northwest Wisconsin near New Richmond on Thursday.
-EF3 damage was found from a tornado that hit St. Louis on Friday.
-Marion, Illinois, was hard hit by an EF4 tornado on Friday.
-EF4 damage has been assessed for a tornado that devastated the London, Kentucky, area Friday night.
-Another rash of tornadoes struck Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Grinnell and Plevna, Kansas, were among the towns hit hard by tornadoes. For all of Sunday’s news as it happened, read our updates here.
-On Monday, severe storms struck the Plains and Midwest. Hail up to the the size of grapefruits (4.5 inches in diameter) was reported in Montague County, Texas. Several tornadoes were reported or confirmed by radar, including near Pittsburg, Oklahoma, where heavy damage occurred. Wind gusts up to 75 mph toppled trees in the Kansas City metro area, as well.
Severe Thunderstorm Reports
(These are initial reports of tornadoes, large hail, and high winds or wind damage from thunderstorms. Note: The number of tornadoes is often not known immediately following a severe event. The number of tornado reports, therefore, doesn’t necessarily correlate to the number of actual tornadoes, which are later confirmed by NWS storm surveys. )
Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
