Severe weather to roar across southern US into Wednesday night
By
Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 29, 2020 11:20 AM EDT
Damaging thunderstorms will charge eastward into Wednesday night, targeting areas of the South that still have fresh wounds from repeated outbreaks of severe weather this spring.
A line of severe thunderstorms, known as a squall line, stretched across eastern Texas, northern Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas early Wednesday morning. These storms initially formed over the central Plains on Tuesday, and congealed into an intense line of wind-producing thunderstorms, known as a squall line, with gusts over 70 mph during Tuesday night.
The southern extent of this squall line is expected to reach the Houston and New Orleans metro areas later Wednesday morning, with damaging winds remaining a threat as these storms charge southeastward. Torrential downpours will also reduce visibility for motorists along Interstate 10.
An intense line of thunderstorms, known as a squall line, stretched from eastern Texas to western Mississippi early Wednesday morning. (AccuWeather)
The eastern extent of the squall line lost most of its vigor early Wednesday morning across western Tennessee and western Mississippi, bringing mainly downpours and locally gusty winds.
However, with the aid of sunshine from the day and a disturbance pivoting around from the Mississippi Valley, another pulse of severe weather is likely for a time in the Southeast states during Wednesday night.
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"During the evening hours on Wednesday, the risk of severe storms will extend from portions of the mid-South to the Florida Panhandle," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"During late Wednesday night, the risk of severe thunderstorms will shift east of the Appalachians and increase along the southern Atlantic coast to the northeastern Gulf coast," Sosnowski said.
Montgomery, Alabama; Pensacola, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta; Charlotte; and Columbia, South Carolina, are among the communities where residents will need to remain vigilant for rapidly changing weather conditions.
"The greatest threats from the storms will be flash flooding and damaging winds up to the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph, although some isolated tornadoes and large hail will be possible in stronger cells embedded in the line," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tiff Fortier said.
Such wind gusts can down trees and power lines, leaving debris on roadways and lawns and also causing power outages.
AccuWeather continues to donate its severe weather and local storm-warning services to hospitals, medical institutions and public health agencies that have COVID-19 testing and triage sites which are vulnerable to severe weather.
Motorists on stretches of interstates 10, 20, 40, 59, 75, 85 and 95 will face a heightened risk of hydroplaning while traveling at highway speeds, as well as reduced visibility.
While the threat for severe weather may be limited amid cooler conditions farther north, flooding rainfall and locally gusty winds can still occur across the Northeast late Wednesday into Thursday night.
As of Monday, there have been 583 preliminary tornadoes reported across the United States. At this rate, 2020 is on pace to rank as one of the top years in terms of number of tornadoes.
The most recent tornado outbreak occurred from April 22-23, when 71 tornadoes swept through Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
"While there may be a bit more separation between major storms in the wake of the severe weather from Tuesday and Wednesday, additional systems will continue to move through every several days with new threats during May," Sosnowski said.
AccuWeather will provide details on the timing and extent of these additional severe weather threats as they draw closer.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Severe weather to roar across southern US into Wednesday night
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 29, 2020 11:20 AM EDT
Damaging thunderstorms will charge eastward into Wednesday night, targeting areas of the South that still have fresh wounds from repeated outbreaks of severe weather this spring.
A line of severe thunderstorms, known as a squall line, stretched across eastern Texas, northern Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas early Wednesday morning. These storms initially formed over the central Plains on Tuesday, and congealed into an intense line of wind-producing thunderstorms, known as a squall line, with gusts over 70 mph during Tuesday night.
The southern extent of this squall line is expected to reach the Houston and New Orleans metro areas later Wednesday morning, with damaging winds remaining a threat as these storms charge southeastward. Torrential downpours will also reduce visibility for motorists along Interstate 10.
An intense line of thunderstorms, known as a squall line, stretched from eastern Texas to western Mississippi early Wednesday morning. (AccuWeather)
The eastern extent of the squall line lost most of its vigor early Wednesday morning across western Tennessee and western Mississippi, bringing mainly downpours and locally gusty winds.
However, with the aid of sunshine from the day and a disturbance pivoting around from the Mississippi Valley, another pulse of severe weather is likely for a time in the Southeast states during Wednesday night.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"During the evening hours on Wednesday, the risk of severe storms will extend from portions of the mid-South to the Florida Panhandle," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"During late Wednesday night, the risk of severe thunderstorms will shift east of the Appalachians and increase along the southern Atlantic coast to the northeastern Gulf coast," Sosnowski said.
Montgomery, Alabama; Pensacola, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta; Charlotte; and Columbia, South Carolina, are among the communities where residents will need to remain vigilant for rapidly changing weather conditions.
"The greatest threats from the storms will be flash flooding and damaging winds up to the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph, although some isolated tornadoes and large hail will be possible in stronger cells embedded in the line," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tiff Fortier said.
Such wind gusts can down trees and power lines, leaving debris on roadways and lawns and also causing power outages.
AccuWeather continues to donate its severe weather and local storm-warning services to hospitals, medical institutions and public health agencies that have COVID-19 testing and triage sites which are vulnerable to severe weather.
Motorists on stretches of interstates 10, 20, 40, 59, 75, 85 and 95 will face a heightened risk of hydroplaning while traveling at highway speeds, as well as reduced visibility.
While the threat for severe weather may be limited amid cooler conditions farther north, flooding rainfall and locally gusty winds can still occur across the Northeast late Wednesday into Thursday night.
Related:
As of Monday, there have been 583 preliminary tornadoes reported across the United States. At this rate, 2020 is on pace to rank as one of the top years in terms of number of tornadoes.
The most recent tornado outbreak occurred from April 22-23, when 71 tornadoes swept through Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
"While there may be a bit more separation between major storms in the wake of the severe weather from Tuesday and Wednesday, additional systems will continue to move through every several days with new threats during May," Sosnowski said.
AccuWeather will provide details on the timing and extent of these additional severe weather threats as they draw closer.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo