Severe thunderstorms sweep into Mississippi Valley, Southeast through Thursday
Severe thunderstorms have shifted into the Mississippi Valley, producing a tornado near Houston, and will continue to track eastward through Thursday.
Warm, humid air will surge out of the Gulf of Mexico, providing plenty of fuel for any storms.
Residents of eastern Oklahoma and Texas, southern Missouri, Arkansas and western Louisiana should stay up to date on local watches and warnings into Wednesday night.
A tornado spun up near downtown Houston on Wednesday morning resulting in some damage and two injuries.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Storm survey determined EF1 rating at Azalea Place apartment complex <a href="https://t.co/rZVbMPv0XX">https://t.co/rZVbMPv0XX</a></p>— NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSHouston/status/847212739198169088">March 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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“The primary threats will be large hail and damaging winds, especially in southwestern Missouri, western and central Arkansas and down into far eastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.
On Tuesday and Tuesday night, similar weather conditions enabled the formation of storms which produced golf ball-sized hail, 80-mph wind gusts and several tornadoes.
Similar threats are expected in storms that spark farther east on Wednesday and Thursday.
There is potential for local power outages as storms will be capable of wind gusts up to 70 mph, which can topple trees and power lines.
If possible, care should be taken to protect cars from large hail.
Motorists should take precautions to avoid storms entirely, as thunderstorms pose multiple threats to those on the road.
In addition to potentially damaging hail and blinding rain within storms, the impact of heavy rainfall could last on affected roads well into Thursday.
“Motorists need to be alert for ponding of water on roadways and slow down to avoid hydroplaning,” said Adamson.
While hail, wind and flash flooding will be possible in any storm, the threat of tornadoes will be highest in a smaller region.
“While a tornado cannot be ruled out in any of the storms, the greatest tornado risk will be in southwestern and south-central Missouri down into far northwestern and north-central Arkansas on Wednesday,” said Adamson.
The threat will continue eastward on Thursday, as storms move into the eastern Mississippi Valley and southern Ohio Valley.
The threat for severe weather will encompass St. Louis; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; New Orleans; and Birmingham, Alabama.
"Storms from western Tennessee down through the central Gulf Coast could produce blinding downpours which will lower visibility significantly, locally damaging wind gusts as high as 70 mph, large hail and even tornadoes," AccuWeather Meteorologist Maggie Samuhel said.
The storms will propagate eastward into Thursday night, eventually reaching the Southeast coast on Friday.
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