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By Joe Edwards
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Millions of Americans are potentially facing a volatile stretch of severe weather this week as a sprawling storm system brings the risk of damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes across the central and eastern United States.
AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that an active pattern will bring thunderstorms from the northern Plains to the Atlantic coast, with conditions ripe for long-track tornadoes and widespread wind damage.
Why It Matters
The forecast outbreak of severe weather includes the potential for long-lived tornadoes and derechos—clusters of intense thunderstorms that can carve paths of destruction over hundreds of miles.
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Forecasters caution that atmospheric conditions late in the week will be especially conducive to widespread and damaging storms, threatening power infrastructure and densely populated urban areas.
What To Know
The risk began Wednesday afternoon in the northern Plains, AccuWeather said, where intense thunderstorms had the potential to produce isolated tornadoes and large hail. As the system moves, the threat would shift into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, including cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis by Thursday. On Friday, areas including St. Louis; Nashville, Tennessee; and Washington D.C., are expected to be in the system's crosshairs.
By Friday, the risk for long-track tornadoes intensifies across parts of the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys. According to AccuWeather, the alignment of warm, humid air and advancing systems may trigger storms capable of producing wind gusts strong enough to trigger power outages, and tree and roof damage.
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An AccuWeather forecast map showed states in the "high" risk zone for Friday included parts of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana.
As the weekend approaches, the severe threat expands further south. By Saturday, thunderstorms could span from Dallas to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Threats included downpours and isolated tornadoes, as well as damaging wind gusts, the outlet said.
What People Are Saying
In an update shared with Newsweek, AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter said: "Unusually intense early-season heat and humidity across parts of the southern United States, more reminiscent of midsummer than mid-May, will provide ample fuel for severe thunderstorms.
"The unusual heat and humidity can also enhance the risk of thunderstorms with damaging winds to consolidate into a derecho, or a cluster of intense thunderstorms that cause widespread wind damage over a long path.
"A derecho generates winds over 58 miles per hour across an area more than 250 miles wide, often resulting in widespread damage, fallen trees and long-lasting power outages, such as the derecho that caused multiday power outages across eastern Ohio, as well as western and central Pennsylvania on April 29."
What Happens Next
AccuWeather forecasts suggest that the threat of severe storms could continue into early next week, with a separate storm set advance out of the Southwest and into the Plains, bringing back the potential for severe storms and increasing the likelihood of tornadoes.
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