Damaging storms threaten multiple US states devastated by killer tornadoes a week ago

JACKSON, Miss. − Damaging high winds and possible tornadoes were forecast to blast across parts of the Mississippi Valley deep into the South, a week after the region was battered by a deadly tornado outbreak, meteorologists said.

“The primary threats will be damaging thunderstorm wind gusts, large hail, along with possible tornadoes,” forecaster Kwan-Yin Kong said in a Weather Prediction Center statement.

An outbreak of scores of tornadoes roared across the region earlier this month, killing more than 40 people across Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri while destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands.

A front that brought heavy downpours and hail to Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma on Saturday was expanding Sunday as more warm, humid air was drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico, AccuWeather said. The severe weather was expected across parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Missouri.

Wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were possible, AccuWeather said.

Developments:

∎ Phoenix could see 100 degrees for the first time this year. That would set a record for the earliest 100-degree day by one day − March 25, 1988, meteorologist Ryan Maue says.

∎ An atmospheric river through Monday will bring heavy rain to Washington state, especially for the mountains. Total precipitation amounts will range from 3 to 6 inches, and locally heavier amounts are possible, the weather service said.

Mississippi cleans up as another storm threatens

In Mississippi, cleanup continued after more than a dozen tornadoes earlier this month killed at least six people. Alan Campbell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned more trouble could be on the way.

“It looks like the main concern with those storms will be damaging wind gusts — probably upward of about 60 or 70 mps,” he said, adding that there was the “potential for hail, possibly up to the size of quarters.”

An apparent tornado touched down Sunday evening in Rolling Fork, a Mississippi Delta town that was hit hard by a powerful tornado in 2023, the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. The National Weather Service said the tornado was spotted in Issaquena County at around 7:16 p.m local time.

“A small vortex formed under a rotating wall cloud. Seen from MS Highway 14 on the west side of Rolling Fork,” the weather service said.

Texas could get respite from drought

Drought-plagued Texas, which has scene blinding dust storms and raised fire dangers in recent weeks, could draw some relief from an area of low pressure forecasters say will develop over North Texas late Tuesday. Rain is forecast for late Tuesday into Wednesday, ahead of another storm that will affect parts of South Texas starting later Wednesday. The storm will move slowly, allowing rain to fall for an extended period of time, AccuWeather said.

“Although the rain will certainly be beneficial, it will only put a small dent in the long-term drought, but any bit helps,” AccuWeather meteorologist Grady Gilman said. “It would take a multiple events like this one to help ease the drought.”

‘Moderate to heavy snow’ possible in Upper Midwest

At the same time, a weather system farther north will drive enough cold air to support “moderate to locally heavy snow” across the upper Midwest on Sunday, Kong said. The snow will become more widespread at night, with upward of 6 to 8 inches of new snow and locally high amounts expected across the upper Midwest to upper Great Lakes.

The systems will merge on Monday as the risk of severe weather reaches the Gulf Coast states. The merger will bring snow from upstate New York to interior New England on Monday before colder and drier air will be ushered into the entire region behind a cold front, Kong said.

North Carolina at risk for wildfires

The combination of low relative humidity, wind gusts peaking at up to 25 mph and dry fuels will create a risk of “adverse fire behavior” on Sunday in parts of North Carolina, the National Weather Service warned.

At least three major wildfires were burning in the Polk County, 80 miles west of Charlotte, and some mandatory evacuations have been ordered. The state Forest Service has issued a statewide ban on all open burning.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency to ensure firefighters have the resources needed to combat the Table Rock Fire in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“The statewide burning ban remains in effect as wildfire risks remain high across the state,” McMaster said in a statement. “Anyone who violates this ban can and will go to jail.”

By Sunday evening, the Table Rock Fire — which ignited Friday — grew to more than 1,300 acres with no containment.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission noted that the current estimate of acres burned includes “several hundred acres that were part of a burnout conducted by wildland firefighters to eliminate the fuels between evacuated residential areas and the many active wildfire fronts.”

“The burnout, which remains in progress, is being deemed successful in removing said fuels,” the South Carolina Forestry Commission added.

Contributing: Mississippi Clarion Ledger

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe storms again threaten region devastated by tornadoes