AccuWeather experts tracking next severe weather risk as storm recovery continues in the South
Many of the same areas that were struck by violent weather last week will once again face a risk to life and property as a new severe weather threat emerges this week.
AccuWeather meteorologists say another round of severe weather will take aim at the southern U.S. this week.
AccuWeather meteorologists are alerting residents across the southern United States of another severe weather event that is expected to evolve by the middle of the week. Many of the same areas that were struck by deadly weather last week will once again face a risk to life and property.
Locations from Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to Kentucky and the Carolinas continue to pick up the pieces following a deadly outbreak of severe thunderstorms on Thursday, Jan. 12. Fifty preliminary tornadoes were reported with over 200 damaging wind reports, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.
A quiet start to the third week of January is in store for many of these areas as cleanup operations continue.
Rain and thunderstorms will begin to move back into the region later Monday into Tuesday as a system tracks through the Mississippi Valley and into the East. Since the energy associated with this system will be displaced well to the north, a similar outbreak of severe weather is not expected with this first system, but brief downpours and gusty winds are possible.
The storm that has garnered even more attention from AccuWeather's forecasting team will emerge from California and the Southwest by the middle of the week and is likely to track farther south than its predecessor. This track that is farther south will result in more warm, moist air streaming northward from the Gulf of Mexico and combining forces with energy in the middle part of the atmosphere, giving thunderstorms an added boost.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Joe Bauer noted that temperatures have been running above normal, about 7-15 degrees Fahrenheit on average, ahead of this system across the South, which can further enhance the intensity of the thunderstorm activity.
"As the storm shifts across eastern Texas and into the lower Mississippi Valley around the middle of the week, all modes of severe weather could be on the table, including tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and heavy rain," Bauer said.
Depending on the exact speed and track of the storm, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock and New Orleans are among the major metro areas that could be in the crosshairs of this latest severe weather event.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that the risk of severe weather will continue in the Southeast through Thursday, shifting eastward toward Nashville, Tennessee; Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama; and Atlanta.
Flooding downpours will be a concern both within the severe weather risk areas as well as for locations farther north that were doused with 1-2 inches of rain last week.
"Across the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, this event next week could produce additional areas of enhanced precipitation," Bauer said. "Given dormant vegetation and areas of saturated soil, there is concern for areas of flooding to develop."
Even in the absence of flooding, the downpours can lead to slow travel. Motorists will also need to be wary of debris blocking sections of roadway.
"At the same time, this rain can benefit the Mississippi River basin," Bauer said.
As flooding rain and severe weather targets southern areas, AccuWeather forecasters say there will be a whole other side of the storm that will bring snow and slippery travel across the nation's midsection and into part of the Great Lakes and perhaps the Northeast. Denver, Chicago and Detroit are among some of the metro areas that could experience the wintry side of the storm.
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