June 05, 2013 - UNITED STATES -
The seemingly relentless wave of severe weather striking Oklahoma and
other Southern Plains states was threatening again Wednesday. A
risk of severe thunderstorms was forecast from eastern New Mexico and
Colorado, across Oklahoma and parts of Texas and Kansas, to Arkansas and
southern Missouri, according to
weather.com. Flood warnings were also in effect in the Mississippi Valley from northern Illinois to Louisiana.
Another Day On The Plains: Storms, Flash Floods, Twister Danger.
While the tornado risk appeared to be lower than it was when powerful
twisters plagued the area, particularly Oklahoma, weather.com
forecasters said pockets of large hail and damaging wind gusts were a
concern in the Plains. Early Wednesday, the
National Weather Service
issued severe thunderstorm warnings for several counties in
north-central Oklahoma and south-central Kansas, with severe
thunderstorm watches in effect in surrounding areas.
WATCH: The storms that recently hit much of the Midwest have caused waters to rise along the Mississippi River, where communities are sandbagging and creating barricades to try to mitigate the flooding. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.
Oklahoma was under
flash-flood watches across much of its south-central region, with 2 to 4 inches of
additional localized rain expected to fall Wednesday and Thursday on the
already drenched soil, the weather service said.
Oklahoma City and its suburbs of
Moore and
El Reno — both devastated by recent tornadoes — were among the areas under flash-flood watches.
Oklahoma City and El Reno were under severe thunderstorm watches. The weather service said some tornadoes were possible. The forecasts came as Oklahoma City and its suburbs continued to dig out from devastating storms, including Friday's
El Reno tornado, which is believed to be the largest on record in the United States, stretching 2.6 miles across.
The
EF-5 tornado, with winds well over 200 mph, and its resulting flooding
killed 19 people, including six children, the Oklahoma Department of
Health said. That came less than two weeks after a
tornado killed 24 people in Moore. The storms prompted Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to declare a state of emergency in 41 counties. -
NBC News.
Severe Storms Wednesday Night Amarillo To Tupelo, Mississippi.
While not a major outbreak, the threat for severe weather will
persist across parts of the southern Plains and Texas into Wednesday
night. Storms will also reach into part of the South. Locally strong-to-severe thunderstorms could impact Dallas, Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas, and Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday night.
For storm-weary folks around Oklahoma City, indications are the
threat for severe storms will shift south of the area soon after dark.
Thunderstorms from northeastern New Mexico through northern Texas,
Arkansas and parts of northern Mississippi and Alabama can be especially
nasty for a time Wednesday night. A few locations in eastern Tennessee
and northwestern Georgia can also be smacked by severe storms.
Some of the strongest thunderstorms over the High Plains will produce
damaging wind gusts, large hail and even an isolated tornado.
A handful of tornadoes were reported in eastern Colorado and
southwestern Kansas on Tuesday evening. Hail to the size of grapefruits
fell near Hamlin, Texas.
Farther east, the threats will include damaging wind gusts, hail and a higher potential for flash flooding. On a positive note, the risk of severe thunderstorms will diminish over the southern Plains for the latter part of the week.
As the cold front responsible for the storms pushes southward, cooler and drier air will move into the region.
Thursday will be a more tranquil day from Kansas and Missouri down
into Oklahoma. The threat for thunderstorms will shift southward into
Texas and southern Arkansas as the cold front moves south. Even Friday will be a fairly quiet day across the southern Plains before the threat for thunderstorms returns on Saturday. -
AccuWeather.
Tropical System To Bring Part Of East Coast Heavy Rain.
An area of disturbed weather will track along at least part of the Atlantic Seaboard after affecting Florida in the coming days. AccuWeather.com meteorologists expect the system to produce a swath
of heavy rain from parts of the Florida Peninsula into portions of the
mainland South this week. Depending on the track of the system, a dose of heavy rain will fall
on part of the mid-Atlantic coast and eastern New England toward the
weekend.
Flooding is a concern in the southeastern corner of the nation, where
slow movement of the Gulf system is likely. Downpours could affect
ground and air travel and lead to urban flooding problems along the
heavily populated I-95 corridor Friday and Saturday.
Drenching showers and locally gusty thunderstorms were affecting
western Cuba, the Keys, South Florida and the eastern coastline of
Yucatan, Mexico, Tuesday midday. Cabo de San Antonio, on the western tip
of Cuba, has received nearly 8 inches of rain in the past three days.
During the same period, Marathon, in the Florida Keys, has received
nearly 5.50 inches of rain.
Rainfall will gradually
propagate northeastward over the next couple of days impacting more of
Florida. According to Tropical Weather Expert Dan Kottlowski, "There
will be a
window of opportunity for the system to develop tropically Wednesday
into Thursday as it begins to drift northeastward." Kottlowski stated
that strong upper atmospheric winds, which are
currently hindering development, could drop off enough to allow more of a
circulation near the surface of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical systems are storms that inhabit the lowest part of the
atmosphere. Since they are warm weather (warm core) storms, they can
strengthen over warm water and tend to weaken over land or cold water.
Strong winds near the top of the storm can also prevent development or
tear a tropical storm or hurricane apart.
Indications
are that steering winds will guide the system, whether it
has fully developed tropically or not, on a general northeastward path
during the second half of the week into the weekend. The first name on
the list of tropical storms and hurricanes for the Atlantic Basin 2013
season is "Andrea." While the exact path will depend on how much
development occurs,
rainfall along parts of the Atlantic Seaboard from Florida to the
coastal Carolinas and eastern New England could be enhanced as the
system moves along. "It is possible this system never has enough time to
become a well-organized tropical storm or hurricane," Kottlowski said.
The first stage of development of a warm core would be a tropical
depression. However, even if the system were to reach that phase, it
does not guarantee that a tropical storm or hurricane would follow.
Even
weak tropical or sub-tropical systems can bring tremendous
rainfall, on the order of several inches or more. Weak systems can also
bring locally severe thunderstorms and dangerous surf conditions. Over
the weekend in the East, the Gulf system could interact with
another storm system coming in from the Plains. That system over the
central part of the nation will bring
another round of severe weather to storm-weary residents in Oklahoma and surrounding states into Wednesday.
The heaviest rain is forecast to fall mainly east of the track of the Gulf storm system. While a zone with little rainfall can occur in between both the Gulf and Plains systems during Friday into Saturday, some areas along the Atlantic coast could receive 3 inches or more with a zone of 1 to 3 inches possible centered over the Appalachians. If both systems were to merge or the Gulf system were to track farther west, heavy rain could fill in from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, New York City and the Appalachians. According to Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity, "The Gulf system is likely to pick up forward speed later in the week and over the weekend, which should work to shorten the duration of the rainfall and could lessen problems caused by flooding farther north."
As long as the Gulf system remains weak and picks up forward speed, few or no problems related to coastal flooding would occur along the Atlantic Seaboard. Most areas could handle a dose of drenching rain without widespread stream or river flooding, as long as the rain does not continue for days on end. According to Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson, "The area that could receive the heaviest rain in the north may be eastern Maine, Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick and Newfoundland later in the weekend. This is the area where the two systems may really get together," Anderson added. -
AccuWeather.
