Severe weather threat continues Thursday with 98 million at risk from Texas to East Coast
Thursday is shaping up to be another potentially dangerous day of severe weather with about 98 million people from Texas to the East Coast at risk of seeing thunderstorms capable of producing large hail, damaging wind gusts and possible tornadoes.
ATLANTA – The deadly multiday severe weather outbreak impacting the central US this week just won’t quit as tens of millions of people across the South brace for more extreme weather on Thursday, and concerns are growing that a potential derecho could develop and blast the region with powerful thunderstorms packed with destructive, hurricane-force wind gusts.
Clusters of potentially dangerous thunderstorms have been developing all morning and are expected to continue to pop up throughout the day from Texas to the mid-Atlantic.
Intense storms have blasted through the Tennessee Valley and Southeast, prompting officials to issue several Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, Tornado Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings.
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Several Tornado Watches have also been issued across the Southeast that last into Thursday afternoon or evening and include major cities such as the Atlanta metro; Columbia, South Carolina; and Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery in Alabama.
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Strong thunderstorms caused some travel headaches Thursday morning when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented two ground stops at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) due to the severe weather in the area. The first ground stop was lifted at 9:15 am, but the second won’t be lifted until 11:45 am
The FAA said there’s a medium chance that the ground stop could be extended.
And severe weather remains in play the rest of the day. Nearly 22 million people from Texas to South Carolina are at a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms on the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
This includes cities such as Dallas, Waco and Austin in Texas, Shreveport in Louisiana, Jackson in Mississippi, Birmingham in Alabama and Atlanta and Savannah in Georgia.
A slow-moving frontal boundary that has produced days of tornadoes from the Plains to the mid-South will again be the focal point for the rounds of precipitation.
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Unlike during activity that began the week, the main threats from the storms appear to be hail and damaging winds rather than tornadoes. However, a few tornadoes are possible from Central and North Texas through the lower Mississippi Valley and into the Southeast.
Meteorologists might use the terms quasi-linear convective system, squall line or even bow echo to describe Thursday’s activity, which represents a substantial wind threat.
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The primary goal of any statement issued by the NWS is to protect life and property.
The SPC warned that some storms could be capable of wind gusts to hurricane-force, and there have already been reports of wind damage in the Southeast.
In Tennessee, there were numerous reports of trees down across Sequatchie County, and several large trees were blown over with multiple power outages in the Middle Valley area of Hamilton County.
Trees were also blown over in the Lakeview and Boynton areas of Catoosa County in Georgia.
The FOX Forecast Center also warned the hail threat is expected to be significant over Texas.
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Power outages across the region are also on the rise as the severe weather barrels across the region.
More than 230,000 outages have been reported across five states, with Tennessee and North Carolina being especially hard-hit.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 86,000 outages have been reported in Tennessee, and there are more than 83,000 outages in North Carolina – down from nearly 100,000 earlier in the day.
For safety reasons, work to repair the downed power lines and utility poles cannot begin until the severe weather threat has passed, so some outages may last for an extended period of time.
Friday’s severe weather forecast
The risk of storms is expected to continue through at least Friday across the Southeast, but an organized severe weather outbreak is not anticipated.
Despite the lack of organization, any thunderstorm that develops can turn severe, with hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.
Cities such as Mobile in Alabama, Tallahassee in Florida, Savannah in Georgia and Charleston in South Carolina are included in the heightened risk zone for strong to severe storms.
Beyond Friday, the frontal boundary is expected to push offshore, which will allow the region to be thunderstorm-free over the weekend.
