As a complex storm system unfolds, meteorologists at AccuWeather caution that multiple rounds of severe weather, including the potential for tornadoes, will initially develop over the Mississippi Valley this weekend before shifting towards the Atlantic coast early next week. While the situation doesn’t appear as volatile as some severe weather outbreaks earlier this month, which saw over 1,900 preliminary incidents of severe weather, including more than 220 tornadoes, the daily events can quickly escalate, endangering lives and posing significant risks to property.
Ahead of the main severe weather areas this weekend, isolated heavy thunderstorms on Thursday could turn severe locally. One area at risk for severe thunderstorms is expected to stretch from northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska to southwestern Indiana and northwestern Kentucky. The primary threats in this region will be strong wind gusts, hail, and flash flooding from heavy downpours.
Further south, a similar outlook for thunderstorms is predicted for southern and central Texas. On Friday, there may be additional pockets of severe weather over the central Plains and northeastern Texas to parts of Louisiana, bringing drenching downpours and locally strong, gusty thunderstorms.
A more widespread outbreak of severe weather is anticipated for Saturday as the first major day in the unfolding pattern. Severe weather on Saturday is likely to be concentrated in two main areas. One zone will target portions of Mississippi, Louisiana, southeastern Arkansas, and southwestern Tennessee, including major cities like Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and Monroe, Louisiana. Another zone to the west on Saturday spans from eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, and southeastern Nebraska to western Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, and southwestern Iowa, affecting cities such as Kansas City, Springfield, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa.
The primary threats on Saturday include hail and high winds, with the potential for tornadoes in the strongest storms. Sunday’s risk of severe weather is expected to broaden and intensify over the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi Valleys, posing threats of high winds, hail, flash flooding, and a few tornadoes from Indiana and Ohio southward to the central Gulf coast.
On Monday, the risk of severe weather will shift eastward towards the heavily populated Eastern Seaboard from Pennsylvania and New Jersey to northern Florida. While the tornado risk is currently low for Monday, severe thunderstorms may still produce brief tornadoes, with high winds, hail, and flash flooding posing the main threats. Major cities at risk on Monday include Atlanta and Charl…
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