Southern US severe weather, tornado outbreak to continue on Sunday
Just hours after one round of severe thunderstorms faded over the south-central United States to end the week, more thunderstorms will continue to erupt and turn severe this weekend. Not only may a few of the strongest storms continue to set off tornadoes in the Southeast, but storms with intense winds and torrential rain may hinder travel as far north as the mid-Atlantic region, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
As early as Friday afternoon, AccuWeather meteorologists issued a rare wintertime high risk of severe thunderstorms for the period spanning Saturday to Saturday night. All modes of severe weather unfolded across the Gulf Coast states from northeastern Texas to western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. During this period alone, more than 160 reported incidents of severe weather occurred, including nearly three dozen tornadoes.
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Two people have died and several others were injured in Texas and Mississippi following severe weather and tornadoes on Saturday. More lives and property will be at risk through Sunday as the severe weather shifts eastward.
People are urged to closely monitor weather bulletins and immediately seek shelter if a severe thunderstorm warning and/or tornado warning is issued for their location.
The risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes has ended from central Georgia, the western Florida Panhandle and much of Tennessee on west as of Sunday morning. However, a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms exists for much of the southern Atlantic Seaboard into Sunday evening.
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Into Sunday afternoon, part of the area with the risk of severe thunderstorms and flash flooding includes the zone ravaged by Helene late in September. Damaged infrastructure and those still without permanent shelter may be at risk.
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As the storm prepares to exit the United States on Sunday, severe thunderstorms will extend along a cold front that will stretch from Ohio and Pennsylvania to northern and central Florida.
In portions of the Southeast, it may feel like a spring day with significant warmth and elevated humidity levels despite cloud cover. The warm and humid conditions relative to late December will help to fuel severe weather.
The overall extent of severe weather on Sunday may be most impressive-perhaps reaching a dozen or more states, even though the peak intensity of the storms may be slightly less than that of Saturday. Storms containing torrential downpours and gusty winds will likely first affect portions of the interstates 77, 81 and 85 corridors in the afternoon and then progress toward I-95 during Sunday night.
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As the storms rolled through Atlanta and Charlotte early on Sunday, hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.
Charleston, West Virginia; Charleston; South Carolina; Dover, Delaware; Richmond, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida, are among the major cities that can be directly affected by a severe thunderstorm on Sunday.
Even where the storms may not reach severe levels over much of the Northeast, brief downpours accompanied by gusty winds can suddenly reduce visibility and lead to ponding during a busy travel time in a heavily populated zone of the nation to close out the weekend. Cities at risk for conditions that may disrupt travel in the Northeast include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and New York City.
Quick movement of the cold front triggering the severe weather will bring an abrupt end to the thunderstorms from west to east across the Southeast states on Sunday.
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