More severe weather to ignite over southeastern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 9, 2022 12:54 PM EDT
|
Updated Mar 10, 2022 4:13 PM EDT
A new round of severe weather is likely to erupt from the northeastern Gulf Coast to the southern Atlantic Seaboard late on Friday and Friday night, including areas that were hit by a round of thunderstorms and possible tornadoes on Wednesday. The next outburst of severe weather will also include the risk of tornadoes, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
A handful of tornadoes were reported near the upper Gulf Coast from southern Mississippi to southwestern Georgia and the western portion of the Florida Peninsula early Wednesday morning. The severe weather damaged some homes, but no injuries were reported, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC). There were a few reports of strong winds during the day Wednesday in Florida.
Into Thursday evening, a risk of locally severe thunderstorms with strong wind gusts, flash flooding and even an isolated tornado will exist over the central part of the Florida Peninsula.
This image, captured on Thursday afternoon, March 10, 2022, shows showers (green) and heavier thunderstorms (red). (AccuWeather)
The risk of severe weather and tornadoes in the Southern states will reignite at the end of the week.
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As a new storm system develops along the upper Gulf Coast on Friday and rapidly strengthens, it will not take long for thunderstorms to erupt and turn severe across portions of the Southeast. A surge of warm and humid air, combined with strong winds in the middle and upper portion of the atmosphere, will spawn thunderstorms capable of producing high winds, flash flooding and tornadoes.
"The earliest severe storms are likely to erupt in portions of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia late Friday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said. "The risk of severe storms will shift toward northern and eastern Georgia, upstate and the midlands of South Carolina and the northern part of the Florida Peninsula during Friday evening."
Late Friday night into Saturday morning, the severe weather threat is likely to extend from northeastern Florida to central North Carolina and coastal areas of North and South Carolina.
Major cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, Mobile, Alabama, Charleston, South Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, will be at risk for severe weather to close out the week.
"Locally heavy rainfall may make for slow travel across I-10 in the Florida Panhandle over the next few days, as downpours could reduce visibility for drivers and also cause ponding of water on roadways," warned AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gusts to 80 mph are anticipated from the severe weather spanning Friday into early Saturday. In the vicinity of coastal waterways and bays, there is also the chance of a couple of waterspouts.
As the storm system itself strengthens rapidly while moving northeastward along the Appalachians late Friday night into Saturday, the risk of severe thunderstorms with strong wind gusts may extend northward through southeastern Virginia and over the Delmarva Peninsula. Potentially damaging wind gusts, with and without thunder and lightning, can occur Saturday afternoon and evening in southeastern New England as well.
There is also the potential for a line of heavy to severe thunderstorms to march southeastward across the Florida Peninsula on Saturday. People in Orlando, Tampa and at theme parks in the region should keep alert for changing weather conditions. Storms capable of producing strong winds and flash flooding may extend all the way to Fort Myers and Key West, Florida, Saturday afternoon so it may not be a good day to take the boat out in the waters surrounding the peninsula and keys.
The same weather pattern responsible for the rounds of severe weather and localized flash flooding in the Southeast will have its benefits, however.
"Although the dangers of the storms should not be overlooked, rainfall from the thunderstorms can also provide much-needed relief for wildfires burning across the region," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm said.
The late winter and early spring seasons represent an elevated risk of wildfires due to the extent of dormant, dead and dry vegetation. Surging temperatures and windy conditions without rainfall have boosted the wildfire risk in recent weeks with some destructive fires already burning this season. In Florida alone, nearly 130 wildfires were burning more than 32,000 acres throughout Florida as of Tuesday evening, according to a press release by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services office.
One of the largest active wildfires in the state was the Chipola Complex Fire, which had consumed more than 29,000 acres by Tuesday evening across at least three counties, including Gulf, Calhoun and Bay. The growing fire forced additional evacuations in Calhoun County on Tuesday, according to the press release.
The episodes of drenching rain into the start of this weekend will help to soak the soil and potentially help reduce the amount and aggressive nature of the wildfires.
The higher humidity and up to several inches of rain in some locations will help the landscape transition from dry and dormant to green and growing. A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast from the northeastern Gulf Coast, including across the Florida Panhandle and the northern half of the Florida Peninsula through central and eastern North Carolina. The southern Appalachians will receive 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch of rain through Saturday. Local amounts of 3-6 inches are likely over the eastern part of the Florida Peninsula.
Portions of the Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast are abnormally dry and other areas like the western Gulf Coast are experiencing severe and extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought is the second-highest category of drought, and severe drought is the third-highest level.
For example, rainfall in Gainesville, Florida, is typically rather low during the winter, but since Dec. 1, there has only been about 62% of the normal rainfall in the city. Instead of the normal rainfall of 9.87 inches through March 9, only 6.16 inches has fallen. And, since Feb. 1, the percentage of rainfall has been similar, at 65%, with only 2.40 inches falling.
The heaviest rain from the late-week storm will tend to miss more widespread drought areas farther west along the Gulf coast.
The risk of severe weather in the Southeast states and drenching downpours will come to an end from west to east on Saturday with dry weather to follow. However, locally strong northwesterly winds in the wake of a cold front could be troublesome for firefighting efforts for a time on Saturday.
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
More severe weather to ignite over southeastern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 9, 2022 12:54 PM EDT | Updated Mar 10, 2022 4:13 PM EDT
A new round of severe weather is likely to erupt from the northeastern Gulf Coast to the southern Atlantic Seaboard late on Friday and Friday night, including areas that were hit by a round of thunderstorms and possible tornadoes on Wednesday. The next outburst of severe weather will also include the risk of tornadoes, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
A handful of tornadoes were reported near the upper Gulf Coast from southern Mississippi to southwestern Georgia and the western portion of the Florida Peninsula early Wednesday morning. The severe weather damaged some homes, but no injuries were reported, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC). There were a few reports of strong winds during the day Wednesday in Florida.
Into Thursday evening, a risk of locally severe thunderstorms with strong wind gusts, flash flooding and even an isolated tornado will exist over the central part of the Florida Peninsula.
This image, captured on Thursday afternoon, March 10, 2022, shows showers (green) and heavier thunderstorms (red). (AccuWeather)
The risk of severe weather and tornadoes in the Southern states will reignite at the end of the week.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
As a new storm system develops along the upper Gulf Coast on Friday and rapidly strengthens, it will not take long for thunderstorms to erupt and turn severe across portions of the Southeast. A surge of warm and humid air, combined with strong winds in the middle and upper portion of the atmosphere, will spawn thunderstorms capable of producing high winds, flash flooding and tornadoes.
"The earliest severe storms are likely to erupt in portions of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia late Friday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said. "The risk of severe storms will shift toward northern and eastern Georgia, upstate and the midlands of South Carolina and the northern part of the Florida Peninsula during Friday evening."
Late Friday night into Saturday morning, the severe weather threat is likely to extend from northeastern Florida to central North Carolina and coastal areas of North and South Carolina.
Major cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, Mobile, Alabama, Charleston, South Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, will be at risk for severe weather to close out the week.
"Locally heavy rainfall may make for slow travel across I-10 in the Florida Panhandle over the next few days, as downpours could reduce visibility for drivers and also cause ponding of water on roadways," warned AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gusts to 80 mph are anticipated from the severe weather spanning Friday into early Saturday. In the vicinity of coastal waterways and bays, there is also the chance of a couple of waterspouts.
As the storm system itself strengthens rapidly while moving northeastward along the Appalachians late Friday night into Saturday, the risk of severe thunderstorms with strong wind gusts may extend northward through southeastern Virginia and over the Delmarva Peninsula. Potentially damaging wind gusts, with and without thunder and lightning, can occur Saturday afternoon and evening in southeastern New England as well.
There is also the potential for a line of heavy to severe thunderstorms to march southeastward across the Florida Peninsula on Saturday. People in Orlando, Tampa and at theme parks in the region should keep alert for changing weather conditions. Storms capable of producing strong winds and flash flooding may extend all the way to Fort Myers and Key West, Florida, Saturday afternoon so it may not be a good day to take the boat out in the waters surrounding the peninsula and keys.
The same weather pattern responsible for the rounds of severe weather and localized flash flooding in the Southeast will have its benefits, however.
"Although the dangers of the storms should not be overlooked, rainfall from the thunderstorms can also provide much-needed relief for wildfires burning across the region," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm said.
The late winter and early spring seasons represent an elevated risk of wildfires due to the extent of dormant, dead and dry vegetation. Surging temperatures and windy conditions without rainfall have boosted the wildfire risk in recent weeks with some destructive fires already burning this season. In Florida alone, nearly 130 wildfires were burning more than 32,000 acres throughout Florida as of Tuesday evening, according to a press release by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services office.
One of the largest active wildfires in the state was the Chipola Complex Fire, which had consumed more than 29,000 acres by Tuesday evening across at least three counties, including Gulf, Calhoun and Bay. The growing fire forced additional evacuations in Calhoun County on Tuesday, according to the press release.
The episodes of drenching rain into the start of this weekend will help to soak the soil and potentially help reduce the amount and aggressive nature of the wildfires.
The higher humidity and up to several inches of rain in some locations will help the landscape transition from dry and dormant to green and growing. A general 1-3 inches of rain is forecast from the northeastern Gulf Coast, including across the Florida Panhandle and the northern half of the Florida Peninsula through central and eastern North Carolina. The southern Appalachians will receive 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch of rain through Saturday. Local amounts of 3-6 inches are likely over the eastern part of the Florida Peninsula.
Portions of the Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast are abnormally dry and other areas like the western Gulf Coast are experiencing severe and extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought is the second-highest category of drought, and severe drought is the third-highest level.
For example, rainfall in Gainesville, Florida, is typically rather low during the winter, but since Dec. 1, there has only been about 62% of the normal rainfall in the city. Instead of the normal rainfall of 9.87 inches through March 9, only 6.16 inches has fallen. And, since Feb. 1, the percentage of rainfall has been similar, at 65%, with only 2.40 inches falling.
The heaviest rain from the late-week storm will tend to miss more widespread drought areas farther west along the Gulf coast.
The risk of severe weather in the Southeast states and drenching downpours will come to an end from west to east on Saturday with dry weather to follow. However, locally strong northwesterly winds in the wake of a cold front could be troublesome for firefighting efforts for a time on Saturday.
More weather news:
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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