First of two powerful cross-country storms underway, millions under severe weather and flood threat
Potential weekend washout for most of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where rain is expected to begin Friday.
First of two cross-country storms begins as millions under threat of severe weather and flooding
The first of two cross-country storm systems is moving out of the Four Corners region and pushing east, which will bring rain to millions across roughly 30 states, as well as a severe weather threat for parts of the Mid and Lower Mississippi Valley and a flood threat for the Southeast. This first storm is bringing rain to parts of the Central and Southern Plains Thursday morning, including Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Severe storms will be possible Thursday across the Mississippi River Valley from St. Louis to Oklahoma City and as far south as Monroe, Louisiana. As these storms move east, the severe weather threat will intensify across the Deep South Friday while rain will reach the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, the beginning of a possible weekend washout.
The first of two back-to-back cross-country storms is moving out of the Four Corners region and pushing east Thursday. Combined, these systems are set to deliver heavy rain to millions across most of the country east of the Mississippi River, as well as a severe weather threat to parts of the central U.S. and Deep South, while the potential for flash flooding develops across the Tennessee Valley on Friday.
ROUNDS OF SNOW TO STRETCH FROM FOUR CORNERS TO THE GREAT LAKES, TRIGGERING WINTER WEATHER ALERTS
Meanwhile, a potential weekend washout looms for most of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, as rain reaches the region Friday.
Warning boxes are color coded as: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in yellow, Tornado Warnings in red, Tornado Warnings with confirmed tornado in purple, Flash Flood Warnings in green, and Flash Flood Emergencies in pink.
(FOX Weather)
Thursday: First storm begins cross-country sprint
Downpours spread across parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas Thursday morning.
This first system will then sprint through the Midwest through the day and a widespread area of rain will cover Chicagoland in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana and reach into parts of the Ohio Valley into the evening.
(FOX Weather)
As this first storm lifts into the Midwest on Thursday afternoon, a round of thunderstorms will be possible across the Mississippi River Valley from St. Louis to Oklahoma City and as far south as Monroe, Louisiana.
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Damaging wind gusts are the main threat, but brief tornadoes could form if storms are able to cluster together in a fast-moving line.
(FOX Weather)
Friday: Severe weather threat for Deep South, as second storm takes shape
A cold front associated with the first storm will move into the Deep South on Friday, sparking the potential for the most significant severe weather threat this week.
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NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has issued a Level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms for an area covering more than 8 million people across the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys, including parts of west Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
This covers Memphis, Tennessee, Jackson, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These storms could be capable of generating damaging wind gusts, hail and possibly tornadoes.
(FOX Weather)
On Friday, the second cross-country will develop once again in the Four Corners and move out of the southern Rockies, bringing another round of rain to many of the same places as the first storm in the Midwest, and in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center has issued a Level 2 out of 4 threat of flash flooding for Middle Tennessee, Mississippi and northern Alabama through Saturday, where more than 2-3 inches of rain is expected with localized pockets of up to 5 inches possible.
(FOX Weather)
Rain from the first storm will arrive in the Northeast and New England, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston Friday morning.
Weekend: Washout for the East Coast
Rain is expected to linger across the Southeast Saturday morning as the second storm shifts into the Great Lakes region by the afternoon.
(FOX Weather)
Showers and thunderstorms are expected across much of the Northeast and New England coasts through Saturday.
Conditions are expected to improve by late Sunday, with most areas drying out by Monday.