The nation’s heartland is bracing for what could be the first significant storm outbreak of the pre-spring season, placing millions of Americans from Texas to Iowa at risk of powerful tornadoes.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service anticipate scattered severe thunderstorms will begin late Thursday, impacting the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. These initial storms are expected to bring large hail, damaging winds and potentially a few tornadoes.
However, the most intense weather is predicted for Friday, with a broader zone encompassing much of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, extending into neighboring states, according to weather service projections.
Melissa Mayes, deputy director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, north of Tulsa, underscored the gravity of the situation. “This is probably our first real event this season where people are really starting to pay attention getting into the spring storm season,” she stated.
More than 6 million Americans are at the highest risk of severe weather on Friday in an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to the national Storm Prediction Center. Another 22 million people are at a slightly lesser risk in a zone that includes Oklahoma City; St. Louis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The general setup for the strong storms is a clash between warm air streaming north from the Gulf Coast and cooler Canadian air behind cold fronts, according to meteorologists with the private forecasting service AccuWeather.
In parts of the eastern U.S., this weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.
“Temperatures will be 20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their long-range forecast discussion. “Daily records could become widespread.”
The high temperature in Louisville, Kentucky, for instance, is expected to reach 81 degrees (27.2 Celsius) by Friday, the weather service predicts. Atlanta’s high temperature is expected to hit 82 degrees (27.8 Celsius) by Saturday. The forecast for Washington, D.C., calls for a high temperature of 74 degrees (23.3 Celsius) on Saturday.
The spring storms in the forecast come near the start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at different times in different parts of the United States.
In what has historically been known as Tornado Alley — a designation that typically includes Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas — the peak of tornado season is May into early June. But the season starts earlier in what is often called Dixie Alley made up of southern states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
Experts recommend a few simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit.
For Mayes and other emergency managers at this time of year, social media is a key tool for raising awareness of the risks that storm season brings.
“We will probably start pushing out some safety tips this afternoon,” she said.
