Severe weather to continue its charge into the Southeast
Additional rounds of damaging storms and tornadoes are in the offing for the southern U.S. through the end of the week in what has been a tumultuous start to May.
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published May 5, 2022 6:40 AM EST
|
Updated May 6, 2022 2:22 PM EST
Severe storms barreling through the southern Plains on May 4 led to multiple tornadoes, causing damage in Texas and Oklahoma.
It has been a volatile weather week in the central United States with some locations, such as Seminole, Oklahoma, being hit with three tornadoes, with two of those Wednesday alone. AccuWeather meteorologists say that the southern Plains will catch a break at the end of the week, but areas farther east will be at risk for damaging weather into Friday.
"Explosive severe weather is set to continue as hail, tornadoes, flash flooding and damaging wind gusts will threaten communities across the Southeast," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm.
Although the overall magnitude of the thunderstorms into Friday won't be quite as intense as what occurred in Oklahoma and parts of Texas Wednesday, the area at risk covered a larger portion of the U.S. On Friday, the risk extended from southeastern Louisiana, northward to Kentucky and eastward, roughly to the I-95 corridor. Areas from parts of Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia will experience a more moderate threat of severe weather.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"The balance of Friday and Friday evening could also feature severe weather from the Gulf Coast to southern West Virginia as the cold front continues eastward, bringing flooding downpours, hail and damaging wind gusts with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph," said Storm.
A few tornadoes can be scattered about the severe weather threat zone with perhaps the greatest risk of a tornado in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, and from part of upstate South Carolina through central and western Georgia and east-central Alabama.
Like what occurred Wednesday evening in Oklahoma, storms that move over the same areas repeatedly will raise the risk of flooding. This can occur even in locations that do not get hail, tornadoes or damaging wind gusts.
The overall intensity of the storms is expected to be lower than Thursday and certainly less than Wednesday, but it only takes one storm to threaten lives and property. Even thunderstorms that do not turn severe always carry the risk of dangerous lightning.
Forecasters say motorists should never drive through flooded roadways as it is often very difficult to tell just how deep the water is. In addition, the road underneath the water may not even exist anymore if it has been washed away by floodwaters.
The risk associated with the storms Thursday night centered over the south-central states and up into the Midwest, extending from southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois all the way to eastern Texas and the northwestern half of Louisiana.
The storms unleashed hail and high winds across the states, with the largest hailstones measuring 2 inches in diameter just outside of Johnson City, Texas, according to The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. The day wasn't free of a few tornado reports either.
A potential tornado struck the Whispering Pines RV Park in Rusk County, Texas, Thursday afternoon, damaging and flipping vehicles. The RV Park is located just off US-259 in Rusk County, about 40 miles southeast of Tyler.
Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez of Rusk County told KLTV 7 that damage from the tornado was mostly south of the Dirgin community and seems to run parallel to the east side of State Highway 43. Trees blocked the roads shortly after the storm, preventing deputies from checking on people.
A quieter day is finally expected to begin this weekend, though parts of South Dakota and Nebraska may have locally strong storms Saturday. Much of the zone from Texas to the Mississippi Valley will begin an extended period of dry and sunny conditions. However, the season's first heat wave will unfold with highs forecast to be well into the 90s in the region and even near 100 in Texas.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Severe weather to continue its charge into the Southeast
Additional rounds of damaging storms and tornadoes are in the offing for the southern U.S. through the end of the week in what has been a tumultuous start to May.
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published May 5, 2022 6:40 AM EST | Updated May 6, 2022 2:22 PM EST
Severe storms barreling through the southern Plains on May 4 led to multiple tornadoes, causing damage in Texas and Oklahoma.
It has been a volatile weather week in the central United States with some locations, such as Seminole, Oklahoma, being hit with three tornadoes, with two of those Wednesday alone. AccuWeather meteorologists say that the southern Plains will catch a break at the end of the week, but areas farther east will be at risk for damaging weather into Friday.
"Explosive severe weather is set to continue as hail, tornadoes, flash flooding and damaging wind gusts will threaten communities across the Southeast," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm.
Although the overall magnitude of the thunderstorms into Friday won't be quite as intense as what occurred in Oklahoma and parts of Texas Wednesday, the area at risk covered a larger portion of the U.S. On Friday, the risk extended from southeastern Louisiana, northward to Kentucky and eastward, roughly to the I-95 corridor. Areas from parts of Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia will experience a more moderate threat of severe weather.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"The balance of Friday and Friday evening could also feature severe weather from the Gulf Coast to southern West Virginia as the cold front continues eastward, bringing flooding downpours, hail and damaging wind gusts with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph," said Storm.
A few tornadoes can be scattered about the severe weather threat zone with perhaps the greatest risk of a tornado in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, and from part of upstate South Carolina through central and western Georgia and east-central Alabama.
Like what occurred Wednesday evening in Oklahoma, storms that move over the same areas repeatedly will raise the risk of flooding. This can occur even in locations that do not get hail, tornadoes or damaging wind gusts.
The overall intensity of the storms is expected to be lower than Thursday and certainly less than Wednesday, but it only takes one storm to threaten lives and property. Even thunderstorms that do not turn severe always carry the risk of dangerous lightning.
Forecasters say motorists should never drive through flooded roadways as it is often very difficult to tell just how deep the water is. In addition, the road underneath the water may not even exist anymore if it has been washed away by floodwaters.
The risk associated with the storms Thursday night centered over the south-central states and up into the Midwest, extending from southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois all the way to eastern Texas and the northwestern half of Louisiana.
The storms unleashed hail and high winds across the states, with the largest hailstones measuring 2 inches in diameter just outside of Johnson City, Texas, according to The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. The day wasn't free of a few tornado reports either.
A potential tornado struck the Whispering Pines RV Park in Rusk County, Texas, Thursday afternoon, damaging and flipping vehicles. The RV Park is located just off US-259 in Rusk County, about 40 miles southeast of Tyler.
Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez of Rusk County told KLTV 7 that damage from the tornado was mostly south of the Dirgin community and seems to run parallel to the east side of State Highway 43. Trees blocked the roads shortly after the storm, preventing deputies from checking on people.
A quieter day is finally expected to begin this weekend, though parts of South Dakota and Nebraska may have locally strong storms Saturday. Much of the zone from Texas to the Mississippi Valley will begin an extended period of dry and sunny conditions. However, the season's first heat wave will unfold with highs forecast to be well into the 90s in the region and even near 100 in Texas.
More to see:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo