It’s the heart of the spring tornado season south of the border and Monday’s weather could prove dangerous for millions of people in the central part of the country.
The U.S. Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is forecasting widespread severe thunderstorms across the Plains and Midwest states throughout Monday afternoon and night.
The threat of severe weather this week in the United States is linked to the same low pressure system that will bring heavy rain to the southern Prairies.
DON’T MISS: Don’t fall victim to these seven dangerous tornado myths
A moderate risk of severe weather – a level four on the five-category scale assessing the risk of dangerous storms – is in place for parts of central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, including the metro area. ‘Oklahoma City.
Storms are likely to develop over the western Plains with Monday’s heat, quickly organizing into supercells capable of producing powerful, long-lasting tornadoes across much of Oklahoma and Kansas. These supercells could also produce “giant” hail up to 10 cm in diameter, about the size of a softball.
As the evening approaches, forecasters expect thunderstorms to quickly coalesce into one or more powerful eastward-tracking squall lines throughout the night, late Monday into beginning of Tuesday.
The greatest threat in these squall lines would be widespread destructive wind gusts in excess of 75 mph, as well as a continued risk of embedded tornadoes.
A new threat for severe weather will spread eastward across the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Tuesday. Destructive wind gusts would pose the greatest threat from these storms.
Travelers passing through Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Omaha or St. Louis will likely experience flight delays and cancellations due to these severe weather conditions.
Drivers are urged to use extreme caution and closely monitor local watches and warnings. Vehicles offer no protection from the destructive winds of a tornado. If you are in a vehicle during a tornado warning, stop at the nearest sturdy building and take shelter inside.
Never try to shelter from a tornado or hailstorm under an overpass. These structures offer no protection from strong winds and the resulting traffic jams are particularly dangerous.
RELATED: Supercell generates extremely rare clockwise tornado in Oklahoma
This is the latest in a long series of severe weather outbreaks that have affected the central United States over the past two weeks.
Several deadly tornadoes hit the plains to end the month of April. Last month saw the second-highest number of tornadoes ever reported in the United States during the month of April, according to preliminary SPC data.
WATCH: April 2024 ranks 2nd for most April tornadoes recorded with over 300
Click here to watch the video
yahoo
