“The potential exists for significant severe weather,” said meteorologist Jason Holmes at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Birmingham, Alabama.
These types of tornadoes are consistent for a long period of time on the ground, as opposed to a typical one that can be on the ground for just a few minutes.
The system responsible for these strong storms is currently near the U.S. west coast, but will migrate through the Rocky Mountains and emit to the Plains by the middle of the week, allowing an atmosphere to form dangerous storms.
“We have more and more hot and humid air over the Gulf of Mexico that will lift rapidly northwards – the conditions on a large scale are very favorable for severe storms. We think that the smaller details are often seen on higher days, especially with a significant tornado potential will also be in place, “said Bill Bunting, head of forecasting at the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).
“This is a very strong system that we have been watching the potential for severe storms as it develops and moves to the northeast, from the Plains to the Ohio Valley,” Holmes told CNN.
The time frame of the storms
This next system will introduce the threat of thunderstorms to much of Kansas, Oklahoma and northeast and central Texas on Tuesday night.
However, the biggest risk is likely to be during the overnight stay of Tuesday and continue until Wednesday morning. An isolated tornado will be possible, but the biggest risks are heavy hail and damaging winds.
There is also a separate risk for some storms across the South during the day, including parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
“Our actual focus day at the moment is Wednesday. We can see a fairly large threatening thunderstorm and potentially severe thunderstorms,” Bunting said.
Wednesday to Wednesday night is predicted to be the most active day in terms of severe thunderstorms this week. According to the SPCA, there is currently an ‘improved risk’ for severe weather in eight states in the South. An ‘improved risk’ is a level 3 out of 5 in terms of potential severity. These include states such as Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.
The SPCA said an ‘improved risk’ means ‘numerous severe storms are possible’, and all threats are possible in setting up Wednesday tornadoes, heavy hail of at least golf ball size and intense winds of at least 58 km / h.
It is currently forecast that a morning showers and potentially thunderstorms will move through parts of the Gulf Coast states, but the main event will take place before the cold front Wednesday afternoon to Wednesday evening. Near this cold front is where the most severe and tornado storms can be.
There could be ‘potentially some waves of severe weather, starting in the morning, then during the middle of the day, and then later in the evening when the cold front comes in,’ Holmes said when discussing the Central Alabama forecast. in that “Improved risk.”
The potential for multiple rounds of rain can lead to flooding in some places. A widespread rainfall of 1 to 2 centimeters is predicted, and some places get more than 3 to 4 centimeters.
By Thursday, the risk of strong to severe thunderstorms will shift to the U.S. east coast. The region from North Florida to southern Virginia is currently being monitored by the SPCA for this risk, but it is still too early to know the exact timing and details of threats.
Severe storms typical of South
Severe thunderstorms are not uncommon for this part of the country and during this time of year. Historically, strong tornadoes in mid-March were the most common in northern Mississippi and Alabama, joining this week’s predicted storms.
“The details will play an important role in how bad things get and where the storms strike. I think what’s important is to know that this is a typical early season in the southeastern United States, in the sense that storms move fast and they will continue into darkness, ‘Bunting said.
“One dangerous aspect of tornadoes in the South is that they can occur in the middle of the night when people are asleep, unlike storms from Tornado Alley, which usually become less severe after sunset,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.
“It’s really important to heed the warning and not wait until you have a visual confirmation (of the storm),” Bunting said. “It’s time for people to make a plan in different ways to get the warnings.”
