Dangerous flooding and severe thunderstorms will continue erupting to end the weekend
Severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall ushered in the new year from the Ohio Valley to the South
By
Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist &
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan 1, 2022 7:23 AM EDT
|
Updated Jan 2, 2022 4:16 PM EDT
A dangerous start to 2022 was underway as severe thunderstorms brought damaging winds and possibly tornadoes to the southern and central United States. After closing out 2021 with multiple high-end severe weather events during the month of December, January seems to be picking up right where December left off.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for much of Tennessee and Kentucky. By Saturday afternoon, several Tornado Warnings were already issued for southern Kentucky as the severe storms came through the state.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a State of Emergency on Saturday due to the threat of severe weather, tornado damage and flash flooding.
A confirmed Tornado was located west of Elkton, Tennessee on Saturday Evening, prompting a warning from the National Weather Service.
Ahead of the main severe weather outbreak, powerful thunderstorms erupted over the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina on New Year's Eve. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Atlanta confirmed that a tornado had touched down in Newton County, Georgia, late Friday afternoon. The Newton County Fire Department reported that several people were injured by the storm.
The severe threat continue and will finish off the first weekend of 2022. The threats include thunderstorms with high winds, flash flooding and even tornadoes. Incidents of flooding are also anticipated in areas where thunder and lightning do not occur.
The threat for thunderstorms is expected to shift toward part of the southern Atlantic seaboard on Sunday. While the overall threat may be slightly lower compared to Saturday, residents across coastal areas of the Carolinas, Georgia and northern of Florida should not let their guard down.
Conditions will be monitored closely across the region, as a resurgence of energy is expected to be injected into the storm. "The main threats from the storms on Sunday afternoon and evening appear to be from strong wind gusts and flash flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that there will still be a risk of a few isolated tornadoes spinning up.
Not only will a threat for severe weather arise from this expansive storm, but a threat for flooding will build as well. There were extensive flood warnings in effect for portions of Kentucky on Saturday as showers and thunderstorms continued to repeat. This is known as training, since the rain moves along the same track just as a train does.
"As of 9 a.m CST Saturday, Glasgow, Bowling Green and Murray, Kentucky, had already exceeded 2 inches of rain from the storm with many hours to go," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that the situation was a serious one from an urban and small stream flooding standpoint.
In the wake of the flooding and severe threat on Sunday, the expansive storm will feature its final act of disruptive weather -- a blast of cold air. While high temperatures can eclipse the 70-degree mark on Saturday, temperatures will tumble into the 30s on Sunday.
Residual moisture lingering within the cold air on the backside of the storm may catch residents off guard, as temperatures are expected to fall enough for rain to change over to snow for a brief time Sunday, Sunday night and into early Monday morning. "The combination of snow and plunging temperatures can coat surfaces and create slippery travel from parts of Arkansas all the way to Virginia," Sosnowski said.
The crashing temperatures and potential for snow will only make any cleanup efforts more difficult across the South in the wake of severe thunderstorms into early week. Luckily, temperatures will moderate Monday and Tuesday and most of the impacted areas will remain precipitation-free until Wednesday.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
Dangerous flooding and severe thunderstorms will continue erupting to end the weekend
Severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall ushered in the new year from the Ohio Valley to the South
By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist & Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan 1, 2022 7:23 AM EDT | Updated Jan 2, 2022 4:16 PM EDT
A dangerous start to 2022 was underway as severe thunderstorms brought damaging winds and possibly tornadoes to the southern and central United States. After closing out 2021 with multiple high-end severe weather events during the month of December, January seems to be picking up right where December left off.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for much of Tennessee and Kentucky. By Saturday afternoon, several Tornado Warnings were already issued for southern Kentucky as the severe storms came through the state.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a State of Emergency on Saturday due to the threat of severe weather, tornado damage and flash flooding.
A confirmed Tornado was located west of Elkton, Tennessee on Saturday Evening, prompting a warning from the National Weather Service.
Ahead of the main severe weather outbreak, powerful thunderstorms erupted over the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina on New Year's Eve. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Atlanta confirmed that a tornado had touched down in Newton County, Georgia, late Friday afternoon. The Newton County Fire Department reported that several people were injured by the storm.
The severe threat continue and will finish off the first weekend of 2022. The threats include thunderstorms with high winds, flash flooding and even tornadoes. Incidents of flooding are also anticipated in areas where thunder and lightning do not occur.
The threat for thunderstorms is expected to shift toward part of the southern Atlantic seaboard on Sunday. While the overall threat may be slightly lower compared to Saturday, residents across coastal areas of the Carolinas, Georgia and northern of Florida should not let their guard down.
Conditions will be monitored closely across the region, as a resurgence of energy is expected to be injected into the storm. "The main threats from the storms on Sunday afternoon and evening appear to be from strong wind gusts and flash flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that there will still be a risk of a few isolated tornadoes spinning up.
Not only will a threat for severe weather arise from this expansive storm, but a threat for flooding will build as well. There were extensive flood warnings in effect for portions of Kentucky on Saturday as showers and thunderstorms continued to repeat. This is known as training, since the rain moves along the same track just as a train does.
"As of 9 a.m CST Saturday, Glasgow, Bowling Green and Murray, Kentucky, had already exceeded 2 inches of rain from the storm with many hours to go," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that the situation was a serious one from an urban and small stream flooding standpoint.
In the wake of the flooding and severe threat on Sunday, the expansive storm will feature its final act of disruptive weather -- a blast of cold air. While high temperatures can eclipse the 70-degree mark on Saturday, temperatures will tumble into the 30s on Sunday.
Residual moisture lingering within the cold air on the backside of the storm may catch residents off guard, as temperatures are expected to fall enough for rain to change over to snow for a brief time Sunday, Sunday night and into early Monday morning. "The combination of snow and plunging temperatures can coat surfaces and create slippery travel from parts of Arkansas all the way to Virginia," Sosnowski said.
The crashing temperatures and potential for snow will only make any cleanup efforts more difficult across the South in the wake of severe thunderstorms into early week. Luckily, temperatures will moderate Monday and Tuesday and most of the impacted areas will remain precipitation-free until Wednesday.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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