Forecasters believe that particularly intense, long-lasting severe storms at a level typically experienced only once or twice in a lifetime could sweep through parts of the South. The National Weather Service issued the highest risk for tornadoes and began issuing tornado warnings for swaths of the Midwest on Friday night. “Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the weather service warned residents in parts of western Illinois. “Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.” An “extremely dangerous” tornado moving at 55 mph was confirmed in eastern Missouri, according to the weather service.
These storms are all connected to the intense storm system wreaking havoc across the central U.S. that within the past day has brought damaging strong winds, tornadoes across the Midwest and dust storms and wildfires sweeping across the Plains. Storms will be moving extremely fast and may catch people off guard. They have the potential to form numerous significant tornadoes, damaging hurricane-force winds, and golf ball- or even baseball-size hail.
The most dangerous threat to tornadoes would likely be across Louisiana and Mississippi late morning into early afternoon. From the afternoon into the evening the storms are expected to sweep across Alabama and possibly into Tennessee before crossing into Georgia and northern Florida overnight.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, it is likely the third time in history the Storm Prediction Center has issued a high-risk warning on the second day of a storm. Central Mississippi and Alabama face the highest risk level, 5, in the centre's rating system. The Gulf Coast states and Georgia face a high risk level of 4. Storms at this highest level of alert can oftentimes produce intense long-track tornadoes, meaning they stay on the ground for a very long time. A slow storm will typically only affect one or two communities, but a faster-moving storm such as this one can cross multiple states, leaving a long trail of damage.
Tornadoes typically occur across the South from mid-March until late April, when the risk shifts to the Plains. Notable springtime Southern tornadoes include one that ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta during the Southeastern Conference college basketball tournament on March 14, 2008; a deadly tornado that carved a path through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 27, 2011; and one that killed 19 just east of Nashville, Tennessee, on March 3, 2020.
The threat of severe weather is expected to continue into the weekend, as the front pushes eastward. “There is a slight chance of severe weather anywhere from North Florida all the way up along the East Coast to the Washington, D.C., area, Philadelphia and just outside New York City,” said Bob Oravec, the lead forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center. “It’s not going to be as great a risk as areas farther to the west.”
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