“A potential outbreak of severe storms, including strong tornadoes, heavy hail and damaging winds, will exist overnight over a portion of the lower Mississippi Valley and southeastern states overnight,” the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) said in a statement. .
The latest forecast shows an ‘increased risk’ of severe storms in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. According to the SPCA, these category risks at level 3 out of 5 mean ‘numerous serious storms’, with heavy hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.
“The ingredients will be combined on Thursday for another severe weather outbreak in the South,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said. “Very humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, combined with a strong rising motion, will create multiple rounds of severe weather, including rotating storms that can cause tornadoes.”
Tornado chance appears Wednesday night
Another active weather pattern setting up across the country is the introduction of storm systems that will cause more storms.
On Tuesday, a system located across the central plains will follow to the Middle East. It could cause some isolated severe storms in northern Missouri as well as in southern Louisiana and Mississippi, a region where tornado warnings were issued Tuesday morning; these have expired.
As the system unfolds in the north and east by Wednesday, attention is shifting again to the West to the next weather system.
On Wednesday through that night, the SPCA predicts the chance of severe weather from central Texas through Mississippi, with the greatest risk in southeastern Arkansas, northeastern Louisiana and western Mississippi. This region has a level 2 out of 5 “low risk” category for severe weather.
During the day from Wednesday, some stormy storms over the southern plains may be possible, with wider rain near the Texas Panhandle.
Wednesday night then becomes more active as a line of storms form, bringing the risk especially for strong winds and hail, but also the chance for tornadoes closer to the Gulf Coast.
With these storms also comes an onslaught of heavy rain that could lead to flooding in parts of the South.
Serious storm threat will be highest Thursday
Wednesday’s storms will move east and center in the deep south on Thursday, as the severe storm risk area is likely to expand and become more important. Strong storms are possible from the Gulf Coast to northern Ohio.
The specific timing of these storms is still too early to know, but the computer model guidance suggests that several storms are possible during the day Thursday through the night.
By Friday, most of the South should dry out, except for parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, where weakening showers and isolated thunderstorms could linger.