St. Louis, Little Rock, Memphis at Risk for Severe Storms AgainA new outbreak of severe thunderstorms is set to unfold over communities that were slammed by severe weather this past Thursday.
Severe storms rattled areas from Oklahoma, Arkansas, northern Louisiana through the Tennessee Valley on Thursday. Several tornadoes touched down, while high winds and hail struck many cities and towns in this zone.
Flooding downpours accompanied the nasty storms, killing three people in Kentucky.
The ingredients will come together for another round of severe weather as a storm system currently impacting the Southwest with low-elevation snow, locally severe thunderstorms and flooding downpours ejects eastward into the southern Plains Sunday and Sunday night.
Moisture will surge in from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of the storm system, providing enough fuel for a dangerous outbreak of severe storms by Sunday night.
Enough moisture may be in place for few violent storms to develop late Sunday afternoon or evening over portions of Oklahoma, northern Texas to eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
Some cities that will first be under the line of fire include: Dallas and Tyler, Texas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla., Wichita, Kan., and perhaps as far north as Kansas City, Mo.
The thunderstorms will really be gathering strength as they progress eastward overnight. This will put much of northern Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri to southern Illinois at risk.
The thunderstorms will be capable of spawning tornadoes that will threaten lives and property if they touch down in populated areas.
Damaging winds over 60 mph and hail the size of quarters and larger will also be a major threat with the storms.
The high winds could topple trees onto power lines or even vehicles and houses. Scattered power outages can also occur.
Springfield and St. Louis, Mo., Little Rock, Ark., and Shreveport, La., will be in the path of severe storms Sunday night.
The potentially damaging thunderstorms will continue to head eastward across the South on Monday. Communities from the Ohio Valley to Mississippi could get hit.
Cities at risk will include Cincinnati, Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., to Tupelo, Miss.
It is not out of the question that a few thunderstorms spreading all the way into the mid-Atlantic could also turn severe.
Torrential downpours from the heaviest storms could result in flash flooding as well. Motorists are urged to avoid driving over roadways with water over them.
People should stay alert to the severe weather and flooding situation, including before getting into a vehicle and traveling. High winds, tornadoes, and large hail pose serious threats to people whether they are in small vehicles or large semi-trucks.