Meteorologists are cautioning about the potential for perilous flash floods and powerful tornadoes as multiple rounds of thunderstorms are set to impact parts of the Midwest and South. A potent storm system is expected to unleash the threat of significant, life-threatening flash flooding starting Wednesday, as stated by the Weather Prediction Center, an arm of the National Weather Service. This new flood alert comes amidst ongoing recovery efforts in Michigan following an ice storm over the weekend. Towns might face inundation and cars could be swept away by floods. Anticipated thunderstorms with heavy rainfall are on the horizon for regions in Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley from midweek through Saturday. Forecasters are cautioning that the storms could linger over the same areas, resulting in heavy rains and dangerous flash floods capable of washing away vehicles. Parts of Arkansas, west Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Indiana are particularly vulnerable to flooding this week, according to the weather service. A rainfall accumulation of up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) is projected over the next seven days in northeastern Arkansas, the southeast corner of Missouri, western Kentucky, and southern areas of Illinois and Indiana, the weather service has alerted. “We could potentially witness about two months’ worth of rain in just a few days,” remarked Thomas Jones, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. The predicted heavy rainfall is an extraordinary event, with moisture from the Gulf amplifying the precipitation potential of the thunderstorms. Severe weather, including strong tornadoes, is forecast to impact the Midwest on Tuesday, with states like Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri facing the risk of tornado formation. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, warns of intense thunderstorms, potential supercells, and primary risks of large hail and severe wind gusts. On Wednesday, a large region stretching from northeast Texas to Michigan will face the threat of high winds and tornadoes, affecting approximately 43 million people and major cities including Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Memphis. Furthermore, cities such as Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Nashville are also at risk of severe storms on Wednesday. In the Upper Midwest, Michigan is recovering from an ice storm that left nearly 200,000 customers without power, with additional outages in Wisconsin. Schools in multiple Michigan counties were closed due to the aftermath of the storm.
The closure continued for a second day on Tuesday, with sheriff’s deputies using chain saws to clear roads. Drivers lined up at gas stations in queues that extended for blocks. The region is expected to experience more wintry weather, with a mix of sleet and freezing rain potentially creating treacherous road conditions on Tuesday night into Wednesday in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, as reported by the weather service. Heavy, wet snow is also predicted for Tuesday night into Wednesday in the eastern Dakotas and portions of Minnesota. Contributions to this report were made by Associated Press Writers Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia, Ed White in Detroit, and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis.
