A widespread severe weather threat that has brought deadly tornadoes, blustery winds to the Southeast and flash flooding to Florida‘s Panhandle is revving up for another round Saturday in many of the same areas still cleaning up from earlier rounds of storms.
Once again, severe weather risks cover a large swath of the Plains and Southeast.
The greatest threat of severe weather is in Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas, where NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has issued a level 3 out of 5 risk. A new weather disturbance will sweep out of the Rockies along a robust jet stream and into the still-favorable atmospheric conditions for severe weather.
But a still-dangerous Level 2 risk covers nearly 32 million people across 10 states, spreading from eastern Colorado through the Plains and into the storm-fatigued Southeast. Even much of Florida is covered in this Saturday severe weather threat zone.
In the Plains, thunderstorms will begin to fire in eastern Colorado and northern Texas Saturday afternoon and push into Kansas and Oklahoma Saturday evening into Saturday night.
Damaging wind gusts of 75 mph or greater along with hail of at least 2 inches in diameter are the greatest threats from these storms, though a few isolated tornadoes can’t ruled out.
And once again, the severe weather threat spreads across the Gulf Coast and into Florida.
Here an upper level weather disturbance will tap into all the abundant heat and moisture still available for storm development.
These storms will begin earlier – about midday Saturday in the Gulf Coast area spreading southeast into Florida Saturday by Saturday evening.
HERE’S WHERE TORNADOES ARE MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR IN EACH MONTH
Risks include the potential for supercells capable of producing large hail, damaging winds and a few isolated tornadoes.
Another organized severe weather threat is possible Sunday and Sunday night for about 10 million people across the lower Mississippi Valley, where a Level 3 risk has been issued by the SPC.
Father’s Day activities here will require being plugged into the current weather as large hail and damaging wind gusts will likely be the primary threats, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.
Much of Arkansas and Mississippi are in this enhanced threat zone, along with northern Louisiana and southwestern Alabama.
The severe weather threat diminishes for Monday, but still a Level 1 risk remains for some possible severe thunderstorms in the Southeast once again.