New severe weather outbreak looms for next week in central US
After a small lull in severe weather on Sunday, conditions may once again turn dangerous for many over the central United States by early next week.
The Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. are at a significant risk of severe weather to start the early weekend with the threat of hail, flash flooding and tornadoes on Friday night, May 16.
Following what is likely to be a significant outbreak of severe weather that includes some strong tornadoes into Friday night, a new threat of severe weather and tornadoes will ramp up early next week over a large portion of the central United States, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
Severe weather will be active this weekend
Heavy to severe thunderstorms will extend along a nearly 2,000-mile-long swath from southern Texas to northwestern New England on Saturday, then settle westward to portions of the southern and central Plains on Sunday.
While the storms during the weekend may not be as intense as those from Thursday to Friday night over the Midwest, they can pack a punch with damaging winds, substantial hail, flash flooding and frequent lightning strikes.
Some of the more potent severe thunderstorms can also spawn a few tornadoes.
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The storms on Saturday will target the major cities along Interstate 95 in the Northeast and the Carolinas, as well as along I-85 in the Southeast, including Charlotte and Atlanta, and farther west over the South Central states, including Dallas and San Antonio. Some locations in this long swath could be hit by more than one storm on Saturday.
As the severe weather threat consolidates on Sunday, the storms will bring strong wind gusts and hail, and flash flooding can occur where they repeat over the southern and central Plains.
Even worse days of severe weather will follow early next week.
Storms likely to be violent over central US next week
A storm from the Pacific will produce rain and mountain snow in parts of the Western states over the weekend. As this potent system swings east of the Rockies, it will tap into warm and moist air from the Gulf, and that is poised to set off multiple days of severe weather beginning on the Plains on Monday, before spreading into the Mississippi Valley during the middle days of next week.
From Monday afternoon to Monday night, the risk of severe thunderstorms will extend from central Texas to eastern and central South Dakota. A concentration of severe weather is anticipated from central Oklahoma to southeastern Nebraska.
All modes of severe weather, ranging from powerful wind gusts and significant hail to flash flooding and a few tornadoes, are anticipated.
The metro areas of Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Missouri, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, and Omaha, Nebraska, will be in the severe weather threat zone.
On Tuesday, the prime threat of severe weather will pivot eastward several hundred miles. The risk will likely extend from southern Iowa and central Illinois, southward to northeastern Texas and northern Louisiana.
A large zone where a higher number of severe thunderstorms is likely will extend across the Ozark Mountains from central Missouri and southwestern Illinois to the borders of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Once again, all modes of severe weather are anticipated, with perhaps a greater chance of multiple strong tornadoes centered on Arkansas and southern Missouri.
By the middle of next week, the severe weather threat is likely to shift even more to the east to impact parts of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and as far to the north as a portion of the Great Lakes region.
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