There is a chance that damaging Hurricane-force winds will come to the central US today
Multiple Tornadoes, Hail, and Winds in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, Counted from an Early Winter Blast
An early winter blast met record autumn warmth Friday, leading to a robust, severe storm system in the South and creating the biggest tornado threat the US has seen in more than five months.
At least one person was reported dead and there are “multiple missing” in McCurtain County in southeastern Oklahoma, which saw significant storm damage after a possible tornado hit the town of Idabel, according to county emergency manager Cody McDaniel.
Nine twisters formed in Texas, four in Arkansas, and one in Oklahoma, a preliminary count by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center shows.
The total number will likely increase in the evening of Saturday, but the intensity will not be known until damage surveys are done by local NWS offices.
In Lamar County, where Paris is the county seat, there has been a bit of damage and injuries.
According to Lewis Collins, a volunteer at the Choctaw Office of Emergency Management in Oklahoma, a woman was injured by a falling tree as she was heading to a storm shelter. It’s unclear whether a tornado went through the area, he said.
There’s a risk of tornadoes, hail, and straight line winds from eastern Texas into northern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi by the Storm Prediction Center.
The watch includes parts of Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma, and east and northeast Texas.
The Impact of Hurricanes and Scattered Large to Very Large Hail at the Oklahoma Panhandle in the Early Stages of Severe Weather
In addition to intense tornadoes, scattered large to very large hail, bigger than golf ball-sized (2 inches in diameter), are also possible, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
“A significant damaging wind event is expected from the eastern Texas Panhandle into much of Oklahoma and southeast Kansas late this afternoon through this evening,” the Storm Predication Center wrote in their forecast discussion early Sunday morning.
From Tuesday to Wednesday there will be flash flooding from the Mississippi Valley into the central Gulf Coast and the Tennessee Valley.
This region needs more rain as the Mississippi River is at record low levels and is impacting shipping and the supply chain.
While the spring months are our busiest time of year, there is an increase in tornado activity in November.
The time of day when a tornado occurs makes a big difference in the fatality rate. Nocturnal tornadoes are more dangerous because many people are asleep and unaware they need to be seeking a safe location. There is still a risk for rotating storms through the evening hours while the tornado threat is greatest during the daytime hours.
Before bad weather hits make sure you have a Severe Weather Safety Plan ready to go. Know where you will go if severe weather hits, and make sure flashlights work and cell phones are fully charged in case you lose power.
A tornado struck Arkansas, Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma in Lamar County, Texas, on Friday, April 11. According to Poweroutage.us
In Texas, authorities in Lamar County said at least 50 homes were damaged or destroyed and 10 people were treated at one hospital, including two with critical injuries. The deaths were not reported immediately.
Plus, more than 100,000 homes and businesses were without power across Arkansas, Louisiana, southeastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas as of early Saturday, according to Poweroutage.us.
There was a tornado that moved 45 mph over Wrightsville, just south of Little Rock, according to the National Weather Service.
A person is dead and two dozen others are injured after a tornado devastated parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Friday.
The two people who were critically injured were stated to be by the sheriff’s office. Earlier Friday, a first responder was injured during the storms in the county and underwent surgery, County Constable Steven Hill told CNN.
Rescue teams and generators were sent to the Idabel area. “Storms hit in Bryan, Choctaw, and Le Flore counties, among others. Additional flash flooding in some areas.”
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is asking residents to report storm damage online in order to coordinate their response.
The McCurtain County Emergency Management Department said a tornado touched down in Idabel, South Dakota, and traveled north into the Gulf Coast
Steven Carter, an emergency management director for McCurtain County, said there were “total destruction” on the south and east sides of Idabel.
The highest elected official in the county declared a disaster to get federal help for the area. At least two dozen people were injured in the declaration.
One community hit hard was Powderly, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Idabel and about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. Both Powderly and Idabel are near the Texas-Oklahoma border.
The Lamar County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management said a tornado touched down in the area shortly after 4 pm and traveled north-Northeast.
Randi Johnson, chief of the Powderly Volunteer Fire Department, told The Paris News newspaper that she wasn’t aware anyone had been killed but knew of injuries.
A giant winter storm that is going through the US is causing dangerous weather, with snow and ice in the Great Plains, icy weather in the upper Midwest and severe storms along the Gulf Coast.
The coast-to-coast storm – which walloped the West over the weekend – is expected to strengthen as it pushes eastward Tuesday, and stall across the central Plains into Thursday, snarling travel amid blowing snow and freezing rain.
blizzard conditions are expected for parts of the central and northern Plains Tuesday and Wednesday with snow predicted to fall at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour.
The storm, which first hit the Western US with much-needed snow and rain, resulted in winter storm alerts stretching from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.
State of the State of Rapid City, South Dakota, as the National Weather Service prepares for heavy precipitation forecasts and a possible future derecho
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.
The South Dakota DOT warned on Monday that roads could be closed in the state if there is no improvement in the weather.
In Minnesota, the National Weather Service issued various winter weather alerts, including a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory. Travel statewide could be impacted by snow this week according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The University and the Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage were closed on Monday because of an unprecedented amount of snow.
The areas have seen a huge relief to the weather in the past week. Tennessee, for example, went from 96% of the state under drought to being at 46% this week.
The storm system that brought storm warnings in Southern California on Friday will cause significant wind damage across the central US on Sunday.
A derecho was expected to develop on Sunday afternoon and evening. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line windstorm associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms.
High Energy Weather Flares and Wind Events from a New Orleans, Flare, Tornado, Dec. 14, 2022-Zero-Point Squall
This is the first Level 4 out of 5 risk issued so far this year, the last Level 4 risk was issued on December 14, 2022, when a tornado touched down in New Orleans.
As the storms form into a squall line, which is a continuous and narrow band of storms that formed ahead of a cold front, it will cause a damaging wind event this evening and into the overnight hours.
“Some models have been suggesting a narrow line of very strong winds moving through areas about three hours or so after the storms move through,” the weather service in Norman added.
Wind alerts are currently in place for over 65 million people from Arizona to Ohio, including Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Cincinnati.
Wind gusts of 60 to 75 mph are possible across the Southwest and western Texas behind these severe storms. The central Plains is expected to experience gusts of 40 to 55 mph.
There is a risk of severe storms in the vicinity of the Ohio River Valley, with a Level 2 out of 5 risk. This also applies to Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville.
There could be travel disruptions in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Monday night when the same system brings the threat of heavy rain, snow, and ice.
