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News / Severe Weather

Severe storms with damaging winds to focus on central, eastern US

Severe thunderstorms will extend from Texas to New England through late week with hail, potentially damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published May 19, 2026 11:12 AM EDT | Updated May 20, 2026 3:32 PM EDT

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Severe thunderstorms packing damaging wind gusts, hail and localized flash flooding will stretch from Texas to New England through late week, including major travel hubs along the Interstate 95 corridor. The threat of dangerous storms will be lower than the outbreak from Sunday into Monday, but they could still damage property and crops and result in regional power outages.

[HAPPENING NOW: AccuWeather meteorologist Geoff Cornish covers the severe weather event live on Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. ET with radar and warnings in the mid-Atlantic. Watch in the video player at the top of this story.]

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.

Below is a day-by-day breakdown of the severe weather threat zones through Friday.

Into Wednesday night

Through Wednesday night, two main areas of severe weather are likely.

From New England to the mid-Atlantic, thunderstorms are likely along the Interstate 95 corridor, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia.

Some severe thunderstorms may also extend southwestward into the Interstate 81 corridor of Virginia and central and eastern Tennessee. The primary threats in this 1,000-mile-long zone will be damaging wind gusts and hail. Downpours may also trigger localized flash flooding, but the rainfall could also provide some drought relief.

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Farther to the southwest, another pocket of severe thunderstorms is forecast in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.

Storms in this region may impact Amarillo, Lubbock and Odessa, Texas, along with Tucumcari and Roswell, New Mexico, with golf ball- to baseball-sized hail, wind gusts of 60-70 mph and flooding downpours. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust in this sector on Wednesday is 85 mph.

Thursday

On Thursday, the greatest risk of severe weather will extend from central Texas and Oklahoma to central Arkansas, much of Louisiana and western Mississippi.

The primary threat Thursday will be from flash flooding. A few storms may bring wind gusts of 50-60 mph. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust is 70 mph.

Friday

The risk of severe weather will be renewed across parts of the Plains Friday, spanning from southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico through western Oklahoma.

The storms in this region will bring hail, downpours and wind gusts of 60-70 mph. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust is 85 mph.

Needed rain versus flash flood risk versus outdoor activities

Looking ahead to Memorial Day weekend, thunderstorms may spread from Alabama and Georgia to the Carolinas, where rainfall could help ease areas of severe to exceptional drought — provided the storms do not disrupt outdoor plans. The main corridor of repeated downpours from midweek into the weekend is expected to extend from Texas and Louisiana to Kentucky.

Rainfall totals from 1-4 inches may be high enough over a few hours to several days to trigger flash flooding in urban areas and along small streams.

Further reading:

What's the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?
Memorial Day weekend: Downpours, storms from Texas to New England
Heat wave to complete spring weather whiplash, worsen drought in East

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.

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