Severe weather risk continues on Sunday
Risk of severe thunderstorms packing damaging winds, hail, flooding downpours and a few tornadoes continue through Sunday night.
AccuWeather’s Bill Wadell reported live from the scene of damage in Alabama on the evening of March 15 after a day full of severe storms and tornadoes.
The same storm that brought blizzard conditions to the northern Plains and flash flooding to the Tennessee Valley, will continue to bring severe weather to the East Coast states on Sunday.
The severe thunderstorm threat includes over 10 states as it progresses eastward through Sunday night. There will be the risk of power outages and major travel disruptions, and property owners and road crews should be prepared for downed trees and flash flooding.
The first storms in the severe weather outbreak erupted on Friday afternoon and Friday night across the Mississippi Valley states which brought numerous reports of damaging winds gusts and hail. There were also multiple tornado reports across Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Mississippi. Severe weather shifted east on Saturday, which brought damaging wind, hail and flash flooding to the Tennessee Valley. Several tornadoes were also reported across eastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with at least 35 fatalities reported as a result of the devastating storms from Friday to early Sunday morning.
Through Sunday evening
While the intensity of the severe weather and tornado risk may be past its peak by Sunday, there will still be a risk of severe weather that extends from Florida to New York state.
Strong wind gusts, hail and torrential downpours will be the greatest threats from the storms on Sunday as they progress from the I-85 corridors to I-95; however, tornadoes can still develop within the strongest storms.
Intense gusts were reported Sunday afternoon across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with some gusts exceeding 80 mph.
The combination of both can lead to dangerous conditions on the highways and trigger ground stops and flight cancellations at the major airport hubs from Charlotte to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City.
Even though widespread severe weather may not occur in New England Sunday night, there is likely to be heavy rain and gusty winds that can lead to travel delays, flash flooding, power outages and some tree damage.
The severe weather threat will come to an end as a strong cold front associated with the storm pushes off the Atlantic coast later Sunday night to early Monday. Some heavy, gusty thunderstorms may still occur on the tail end of the front in South Florida and the Keys on Monday.
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