Tornadoes, hail and high winds: 60 million brace for severe weather
A two-pronged system will spark severe thunderstorms and spin up tornadoes across more than a dozen states after dumping feet of snow in Colorado.
Experts share some of the best ways to stay safe during a tornado.
The same storm system that is destined to dump feet of snow on Colorado will spin out rounds of severe weather through Friday to more than 60 million people from the Plains to the Midwest and the southeastern United States. The severe weather threat will come in two parts and will include the potential for nighttime tornadoes, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
As a precursor to what may be big days in terms of severe weather, thunderstorms packing hail to the size of golf balls and eggs pummeled parts of Missouri and Kansas on Tuesday evening.
"The first disturbance is expected to kick off the severe risk across eastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, western Missouri and southwestern Iowa on Wednesday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. "These storms will likely fire up late in the day and continue into Wednesday night."
The Kansas City, Missouri, and Topeka, Kansas, metro areas will be in the middle of the threat zone at midweek. The severe weather threats range from powerful wind gusts and large hail to tornadoes. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust for the storms is 65 mph. Some hailstones in the biggest storms could be extremely dangerous and damaging, potentially reaching baseball or softball size.
As one part of the system spins northeastward toward the Midwest, the second part of the double system will roll out of the Rockies and onto the southern Plains, triggering a more widespread risk of severe weather Thursday.
"Because of the two disturbances, the severe risk could end up having two focal points, with one zone focused along a push of dry air in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas and another farther north that includes Iowa, Missouri and Illinois," Buckingham said.
Those living in the path of the severe weather should expect high straight-line wind gusts and large hail. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust for these storms is 75 mph.
Dallas, St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas, are among Thursday's major metro areas at risk for severe weather as well as the western portion of the Chicago metro area.
The severe weather threat zone farther north will be tied into the main storm from the Rockies. That storm is forecast to turn more to the east as it nears the Great Lakes. Some robust thunderstorms may push across parts of the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley later Thursday night and Friday.
"A large and powerful complex of thunderstorms is expected to develop with the southern Plains disturbance Thursday night," Buckingham said.
Not only do these thunderstorms have the potential to roll along hundreds of miles to the east and southeast over the Gulf Coast states into Friday, but the severe weather may transition to a flash flood threat as it advances, Buckingham explained.
A general 2-4 inches of rain will fall with local amounts that may exceed 6 inches from northern and central Louisiana to central and southern Mississippi and Alabama. This is enough rain to trigger small stream and low-lying area flooding and may have some of the secondary rivers surging in the region.
Daytime heating on Friday may cause the leading edge of the downpours to erupt into robust thunderstorms once again in parts of the Southeastern states.
Despite the flip to daylight saving time this past weekend, which extends daylight one hour into the evening, some of the most intense storms capable of producing tornadoes will persist beyond the late afternoon and early evening. They may continue well after 8 p.m. local time, which will add to the danger.
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