Severe storms to rattle areas from Texas, Louisiana to Arkansas Sunday night

Thunderstorms capable of localized severe weather will erupt across the South Central United States to close out this weekend.

The circulation around a snowstorm over the northern Plains this weekend will help to create the springlike conditions farther to the south and east.

The storms will be fueled by a flow of warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico and strong winds aloft slicing in from the southwest.

A fast-moving line of thunderstorms is likely to develop from northeastern Texas to southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas late Sunday afternoon or evening, according to AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Richard Schraeger.

"The greatest threats will be for wind gusts to 60 mph that may knock down trees, result in sporadic power outages and perhaps cause minor property damage," Schraeger said.

The risk of an isolated tornado or two will be low, but not zero. The greatest threat for a tornado will occur as storms initially develop late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening.

"The storms are likely to progress quickly to the east across Arkansas and northern Louisiana during the overnight hours on Sunday," Schraeger said. "Since the storms will survive the overnight hours, they may catch some people off guard."

The strongest thunderstorms will also clip far southern Missouri, including Branson.

Crosswinds from the storms may be strong enough to flip over lightweight trailers along the corridors of Interstates 20, 30 and 55.

The risk for damaging winds will gradually diminish as the line of thunderstorms reaches the Mississippi River by daybreak Monday.

In lieu of severe weather, downpours with gusty winds, thunder and lightning may rattle Houston on Sunday night and New Orleans on Monday. Thunder may also be heard northward to St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati during this time.

Airlines may experience some delays as this adverse weather swings through.

"Because of the fast-moving nature of the storms, we do not expect widespread flooding with this event over the Central states," Schraeger said.

Downpours may be intense enough to cause highly localized flash flooding which may pose a hazard and travel delays for motorists.

However, the combination of the thaw and rain from the storm system may exacerbate ice jam flooding in parts of the Midwest and the Northeast.

Report a Typo