'Major' severe storm outbreak with 'long-track, intense tornadoes' forecast for South [View all]

[DonViejo]

Source: Washington Post

The Weather Service has declared an exceptionally rare “high risk” of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday. The threat shifts into Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic on Thursday.



By Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow
March 17, 2021 at 1:05 p.m. EDT

An extremely dangerous severe weather outbreak is expected Wednesday across a large swath of the South, with violent, long-track tornadoes, destructive winds and large, damaging hail. This threat will shift to the Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic on Thursday.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has declared a very rare Level 5 out of 5 “high risk” of severe thunderstorms highlighting the exceptional intensity and widespread nature of the anticipated outbreak. “A Major Severe Weather Outbreak is Forecast,” says the headline on the center’s website.

Over 40 million Americans from Texas to Georgia are at risk of severe weather on Wednesday, including nearly 1.5 million residing in the top-tier high-risk zone, which spans extreme northeast Louisiana, central Mississippi and western Alabama, and includes Birmingham, Ala., Jackson, Miss., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

It’s the first time since 2012 that a high risk of severe weather has been declared during March by the Storm Prediction Center. “A significant tornado outbreak, with long-track, intense tornadoes is expected to begin this afternoon across parts of Louisiana and Arkansas,” it writes, “and then spread eastward and peak this evening into tonight across Mississippi and Alabama.”


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/17/tornado-outbreak-high-risk-south/