Severe weather, including tornado threat, returns to South

A week after a severe weather outbreak swept across the southern United States killing four people, another round of severe weather is expected this weekend. AccuWeather meteorologists say the same potent storm is set to blast a wide swath of snow and ice from the Plains to the Ohio Valley and is forecast to produce severe weather farther south also.

As a storm moves from the Plains into the Tennessee Valley through Sunday night, it will be the meeting point between a clash of cold air in the Plains and warm moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, helping to fuel the severe weather.

"A line of thunderstorms is expected to develop across eastern Texas, which will strengthen as they move into Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama through Sunday night," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Gwen Fieweger.

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The surge of warm air, with highs in the 70s - well above the historical average for January, is expected ahead of the storms in cities like Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.

Many of the most powerful storms are expected between the Interstate 10 and 20 corridors and could bring damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding downpours. Thunderstorms could be potent as far north as Little Rock, Arkansas, and as far south as Gulf Coast cities like Houston and Pensacola, Florida.

Fieweger also warned that many of the thunderstorms could be rotating, making them capable of producing a few tornadoes.

Some of the same states are still reeling from last weekend's deadly severe weather that produced over 80 tornadoes. The thunderstorms also generated over 150 damaging wind reports and caused both building and tree damage.

Noticeably colder air is expected to filter into the Southern states behind these thunderstorms, which may make cleanup from both rounds of severe storms even more challenging.

Temperatures Sunday night from Texas to Alabama are expected to dive below the freezing mark, and they could stay that way for several nights.

Several more rounds of Arctic air are likely to keep the colder conditions around through at least mid-January.

On Monday, storms are expected to advance eastward along the Southeast coastline into the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia. Forecasters warn that localized damaging wind gusts in storms can reach speeds of 50-60 mph with the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph.

By Monday evening, moisture will shove offshore to the east, allow for the threat for severe weather to diminish.

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