Severe weather, flooding dangers to span nearly 20 states
While Thursday and Friday will each feature storms capable of producing damaging impacts, AccuWeather forecasters say there is a greater risk of severe storms on Friday.
AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn of a heightened risk of flooding rain and severe thunderstorms during the latter part of the week from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley.
The same storm responsible for the latest dose of heavy precipitation and damaging winds to California into Wednesday is on track to spread eastward across the nation's midsection during Thursday and Friday.
An extensive area of soaking rain is expected to set up from Texas to Ohio during the two-day span, heightening the risk of travel disruptions and flash flooding.
"In this zone, more than 4 inches of rain is possible, bringing threats such as stream flooding and rises in water levels. Low-lying roadways may also see ponding, leading to slower travel," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
The area from northwestern Arkansas to southwestern Ohio stands the highest risk of approaching the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches. Much of this region has experienced 125-200% of historical average rainfall since the start of March.
This image shows anticipated rainfall in detail and impacts from Wednesday evening, March 22, to Saturday evening, March 25, 2023. (AccuWeather)
AccuWeather experts say warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico will funnel into the region, helping to fuel the downpours and ignite severe thunderstorms in some locations.
The risk of severe weather will overlap some of the zone at risk for flash flooding.
By Thursday, temperatures could be as much as 10-20 degrees above the historical average for late March, helping to fuel the severe weather threat.
The first round of severe thunderstorms will erupt late Thursday across the southern Plains.
"Damaging wind gusts, heavy downpours and even a few isolated tornadoes could impact motorists along portions of interstates 20, 30 and 35 during Thursday afternoon and Thursday night," Travis said. The greatest risk of a few tornadoes is from near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, where severe thunderstorms with damaging hail and ominous clouds moved in late last week, will again face a threat of severe weather late this week. Oklahoma City and Austin, Texas, are other metro areas that could face adverse weather conditions later Thursday.
AccuWeather meteorologists say severe weather dangers will continue right into the end of the week, encompassing a broad area of the Southeast.
"Locations from just east of Houston to New Orleans, Atlanta and Nashville should be on alert for gusty thunderstorms at the end of the week," Travis said.
Damaging straight-line wind gusts with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph will be possible, along with the continued threat of isolated tornadoes and torrential downpours.
"Even though there may not be a great number of tornadoes, the few that develop could become strong and potentially could be on the ground for more than a couple of minutes," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "All it takes is one tornado to strike a populated area to put the lives of many people at risk and cause significant property damage."
As the storms cross the major interstates and airport hubs from eastern Texas to Tennessee and northwestern Georgia, there will be an increased threat of travel being delayed or even coming to a halt for a time.
AccuWeather forecasters warn that severe weather dangers may press eastward across the Southern states through Friday night. There is also the potential for some severe storms to expand into the Ohio Valley. Residents are encouraged to have a way to receive severe weather alerts before heading to bed.
Although this first system will exit the East Coast by the end of the weekend, forecasters say a few more rounds of rain and thunderstorms are in store across the South into early next week.
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