Severe storms to threaten portions of South and Midwest on day before Thanksgiving

Following a line of severe thunderstorms that produced hail and wind damage, and even a possible tornado near Dallas, on Tuesday, forecasters say that a repeat performance may be in store farther east into Wednesday evening.

Portions of southern Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas endured thunderstorms that dropped hail up to the size of golf balls and caused winds over 60 mph on Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening. By late Tuesday night, the thunderstorms that caused the adverse weather weakened quickly over central Arkansas and far eastern Texas. However, heavy rain was still falling.

This area of thunderstorms weakened during Wednesday morning. But, as the cold front associated with the storms moves farther to the east and into warmer air from the afternoon and early evening, storms can once again become feisty.

That said, there a couple of mitigating factors that may temper the severe weather threat somewhat into Wednesday evening.

The first is an abundance of cloud cover over southern Illinois, southern Indiana, western and central Kentucky and Tennessee, northern Louisiana, northern and central Mississippi and northwestern Alabama. These are the very areas that are at risk for severe thunderstorms on Wednesday. Even though the sun is relatively low in the sky this time of year, daytime heating still helps to intensify storms.

The second factor is that a ripple in the atmosphere that aided in the development of the rough weather on Tuesday is shifting farther to the north. These ripples hope to add energy to any thunderstorms that form. Since the energy will be well removed from the area, the thunderstorms may not be as robust.

Even with those factors working against any development of widespread severe thunderstorms, the cold front will still act as a focus for storms that can be heavy, gusty and briefly severe at the local level. Atlanta; New Orleans; Cincinnati; Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Montgomery and Huntsville, Alabama, will be some locations with a risk of disruptive storms into Wednesday evening.

"Damaging winds and downpours that drastically reduce visibility on the roadways are likely to be the greatest threats from the storms. Depending on the severity of the storms, some communities could be left without power heading into Thanksgiving Day," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.

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The storms will move well off to the south and east by Thursday.

"The good news is that the storms will exit the area by the holiday, and it will actually be rather pleasant behind the front with dry conditions, low humidity and temperatures a few degrees above normal on Thursday," Duff said.

Unfortunately, the break may be short-lived as downpours and, potentially, even a significant storm, could be in the offing after Thanksgiving.

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