Dangerous storms continue their destructive path across southern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 10, 2021 6:00 PM EST
As severe thunderstorms slammed the south-central and southeastern U.S. on April 9, at least one tornado was spotted touching down in Mississippi.
After a swath of deadly severe weather delivered strong winds and damaging hail across the South Central states, the storms will continue to set their sights farther east through Saturday.
Dangerous thunderstorms swept across parts of the South on Friday, delivering damaging winds and large hail to portions of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. A few isolated tornadoes were even reported in the region.
At least one fatality was reported Friday evening amid strong winds in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed with AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that a 48-year-old man died after a tree fell onto a mobile home near Blanchard, Louisiana, outside of Shreveport. Neighbors of the victim told Wadell that the storms had been nearby, and there had been strong winds at the time.
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By Saturday morning, storms were already be racing eastward over the I-10 and 20 corridors of Alabama, southern Mississippi, southeastern Louisiana, southwestern Georgia and northern Florida.
Waterspouts were reported outside of Panama City Beach, Florida following tornado-warned storms that swept through the area.
The storms will continue to be capable of producing everything from very large hail, flash flooding and frequent lightning strikes to powerful wind gusts and tornadoes spanning through Saturday evening, especially across Georgia and Florida.
AccuWeather forecasters say the explosive weather could even cause impacts over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico. Boaters and those operating petroleum rigs across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico should be on the lookout for rapidly changing weather conditions with the likelihood of sudden high winds and rough seas.
Darkness and downpours will make the storms difficult to spot. People will need a means of getting severe weather bulletins as they are issued through the nighttime hours. The AccuWeather app can be a valuable tool for receiving severe weather warnings and checking radar, timing of severe weather and what conditions may be ahead in days to come.
The Augusta National Golf Club where The Masters tournament is taking place through this weekend will be on the northeastern edge of the severe weather threat on Saturday and probably just west of the big storms on Sunday. The greatest chance for a storm capable of producing lightning strikes will be into Saturday evening in Augusta, Georgia.
Elsewhere through Saturday evening, a few heavy, gusty and isolated severe thunderstorms cannot be ruled out farther to the north over parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys as well as in portions of the Carolinas and Virginia.
Storms are expected to fire up from Florida to New York state on Sunday with the best change of severe storms in Florida.
"Thunderstorms could start off on the feisty side first thing in the morning across the northern parts of the Florida Peninsula and along the Gulf Coast," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.
Throughout the day, thunderstorms are forecast to spread generally from north to south across the Peninsula, all the while bringing the threat for damaging wind gusts, torrential downpours, hail and even a waterspout or isolated tornado.
Low-lying and poor drainage areas will be at the greatest risk for flash flooding issues.
Even though much of the region had quiet, dry weather that lasted about a week preceding this event, states from Arkansas and Louisiana to Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia have been targeted by rounds of severe thunderstorms this spring. Since the middle of March, there have been five significant outbreaks of severe weather that have produced hundreds of severe weather incidents and dozens of tornadoes, according to the SPC. Some of the storms have caused injuries and fatalities.
Rainfall has been excessive in much of the same area since the end of winter. Many areas have picked up one and a half to three times their average rainfall since early March.
Even though a week of dry weather has helped small streams to recede and rivers to crest, the soil is still moist in the region, and waterways generally remain in an elevated state. Additional rainfall of moderate to heavy intensity -- even if precipitation comes down for only a short time -- can lead to new rises on streams and rivers.
There is the potential for some locations to be hit by more than one severe thunderstorm through Saturday. Where downpours repeat, enough rain can fall to trigger flooding. A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast to fall over the lower part of the Mississippi Valley, but where downpours persist, 6 inches of rain can inundate some places.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Severe Weather
Dangerous storms continue their destructive path across southern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 10, 2021 6:00 PM EST
As severe thunderstorms slammed the south-central and southeastern U.S. on April 9, at least one tornado was spotted touching down in Mississippi.
After a swath of deadly severe weather delivered strong winds and damaging hail across the South Central states, the storms will continue to set their sights farther east through Saturday.
Dangerous thunderstorms swept across parts of the South on Friday, delivering damaging winds and large hail to portions of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. A few isolated tornadoes were even reported in the region.
At least one fatality was reported Friday evening amid strong winds in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed with AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that a 48-year-old man died after a tree fell onto a mobile home near Blanchard, Louisiana, outside of Shreveport. Neighbors of the victim told Wadell that the storms had been nearby, and there had been strong winds at the time.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
By Saturday morning, storms were already be racing eastward over the I-10 and 20 corridors of Alabama, southern Mississippi, southeastern Louisiana, southwestern Georgia and northern Florida.
Waterspouts were reported outside of Panama City Beach, Florida following tornado-warned storms that swept through the area.
The storms will continue to be capable of producing everything from very large hail, flash flooding and frequent lightning strikes to powerful wind gusts and tornadoes spanning through Saturday evening, especially across Georgia and Florida.
AccuWeather forecasters say the explosive weather could even cause impacts over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico. Boaters and those operating petroleum rigs across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico should be on the lookout for rapidly changing weather conditions with the likelihood of sudden high winds and rough seas.
Darkness and downpours will make the storms difficult to spot. People will need a means of getting severe weather bulletins as they are issued through the nighttime hours. The AccuWeather app can be a valuable tool for receiving severe weather warnings and checking radar, timing of severe weather and what conditions may be ahead in days to come.
The Augusta National Golf Club where The Masters tournament is taking place through this weekend will be on the northeastern edge of the severe weather threat on Saturday and probably just west of the big storms on Sunday. The greatest chance for a storm capable of producing lightning strikes will be into Saturday evening in Augusta, Georgia.
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Elsewhere through Saturday evening, a few heavy, gusty and isolated severe thunderstorms cannot be ruled out farther to the north over parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys as well as in portions of the Carolinas and Virginia.
Storms are expected to fire up from Florida to New York state on Sunday with the best change of severe storms in Florida.
"Thunderstorms could start off on the feisty side first thing in the morning across the northern parts of the Florida Peninsula and along the Gulf Coast," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.
Throughout the day, thunderstorms are forecast to spread generally from north to south across the Peninsula, all the while bringing the threat for damaging wind gusts, torrential downpours, hail and even a waterspout or isolated tornado.
Low-lying and poor drainage areas will be at the greatest risk for flash flooding issues.
Even though much of the region had quiet, dry weather that lasted about a week preceding this event, states from Arkansas and Louisiana to Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia have been targeted by rounds of severe thunderstorms this spring. Since the middle of March, there have been five significant outbreaks of severe weather that have produced hundreds of severe weather incidents and dozens of tornadoes, according to the SPC. Some of the storms have caused injuries and fatalities.
Rainfall has been excessive in much of the same area since the end of winter. Many areas have picked up one and a half to three times their average rainfall since early March.
Even though a week of dry weather has helped small streams to recede and rivers to crest, the soil is still moist in the region, and waterways generally remain in an elevated state. Additional rainfall of moderate to heavy intensity -- even if precipitation comes down for only a short time -- can lead to new rises on streams and rivers.
There is the potential for some locations to be hit by more than one severe thunderstorm through Saturday. Where downpours repeat, enough rain can fall to trigger flooding. A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast to fall over the lower part of the Mississippi Valley, but where downpours persist, 6 inches of rain can inundate some places.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo