A cold front advancing across the heartland into the eastern half of the U.S. has the potential to kick off rounds of showers and thunderstorms through the weekend, with some becoming strong to severe.
The FOX Forecast Center is watching areas from St. Louis, Missouri, to storm-ravaged Little Rock, Arkansas, for the chance of large hail and damaging winds on Saturday. There is also a much lower risk of tornadoes in the region.
“Saturday, the severe storm threat is now a Level 3 out of 5, and this does include Little Rock right smack in the middle of it, and this is going to go up into places like Davenport with a Level 1,” said FOX Weather meteorologist Craig Herrera.
Temperatures, before the storms make it into the Mississippi Valley, will reach the 70s and 80s, which is one of the ingredients that could help increase severe weather chances.
Thunderstorms are expected to develop during the mid and late afternoon and become more organized during the evening.
The tornado threat is lower than the expected impacts from hail and gusty winds, especially if storms are able to establish themselves in their own environment, away from the more solid rain shield.
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A national radar map shows occasional showers and storms developing across the eastern Rockies and Plains. As the surface low strengthens, additional moisture is expected to help with the formation of additional showers and storms.
Due to the invasion of much cooler air, on the northern side of the low, snow is being produced.
The frozen precipitation is expected to make its way through the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes over the next 72 hours.
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The cold front triggering the precipitation is expected to continue its eastward trek on Sunday and produce showers and thunderstorms from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast.
The FOX Forecast Center expects if a storm turns strong to severe over the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, the greatest threats will be from hail or gusty winds.
Further south in Georgia and South Carolina, afternoon heating may lead to a more organized line of storms and a possible isolated tornado threat.
Forecast models show many communities picking up less than an inch of rain, but where storms train over the same region, isolated higher amounts are possible, especially across the South.
Sunday’s threat zone is over an area that saw severe weather on Thursday, associated with a low-pressure system that moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the Carolinas.
Gusty winds were responsible for downing trees and power lines in the Peach State, but damage was isolated compared to impacts experienced South Florida.