Severe storms to rattle southern US in first full week of May
Storms with the risk of damaging winds, hail, a few tornadoes and localized flash flooding will tend to focus on the southern part of the central and eastern United States into the end of the week.
Severe thunderstorms unleashed dangerous tornadoes and lightning strikes across Mississippi and Alabama on the evening of May 6.
Severe weather and torrential downpours will continue across the southern United States into the end of the week following reports of several dangerous tornadoes across Mississippi Wednesday night.
Below is a day-by-day breakdown of AccuWeather's severe weather concerns.
AccuWeather’s severe weather classification is impact-driven and differs from the Storm Prediction Center’s system, with a focus on clarity for the general public.
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Thursday
As a storm system moves along the front, a period of steady rain is likely in coastal areas of the Northeast on Thursday.
However, south and east of the storm track, warm, humid air will fuel severe thunderstorms from far southeastern Louisiana to southern North Carolina.
The main threats will be strong wind gusts, torrential downpours and even an isolated tornado.
Friday
On Friday, a pocket of severe thunderstorms is forecast to form over the southern portion of the Plains states in portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.
Hail and damaging wind gusts will be the main threats farther south over parts of western and southern Texas.
Saturday
On Saturday, a concentration of thunderstorms is forecast to become severe over portions of the Plains and may overlap Friday's zone of thunderstorms.
Hail and damaging wind gusts will be the main threats in Oklahoma, central and eastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, northwestern Arkansas and part of north-central Texas.
Downpours to bring some drought relief, but also flash flood risks
This week’s weather will bring additional drought relief to parts of the southern U.S.
Parts of the South received several inches of rain last week. At the same time, areas near and northwest of the Interstate 85 corridor—from northern Georgia through the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as eastern Tennessee—missed out on needed rainfall.
From Friday through Mother's Day weekend, downpours will frequent the upper Gulf Coast region.
Where downpours persist, not only may drought conditions be relieved, but low-lying area flooding can also occur.
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