Strong tornadoes slam Mississippi as severe storms erupt across the Southeast
Numerous storms are set to slam the area, with the primary risk developing later in the day. Tornadoes and hail are possible, with damaging winds possibly continuing into the evening.
Another round of severe storms took shape in the Southeast Wednesday night— ending a rare two-month spring stretch without tornadoes in parts of the region.
Numerous tornadoes have been confirmed across Mississippi on Wednesday evening amid a severe weather outbreak. The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado emergencies, while reports also included large hail, heavy rainfall and damaging winds.
Louisiana and Alabama also were on the receiving end of severe storms, where flash flood warnings were issued for some major cities, including Alexandria, Louisiana and Montgomery, Alabama.
TRIPLE THREAT: MASSIVE COLD FRONT TO UNLEASH SNOW, SEVERE STORMS AND HEAVY RAIN ACROSS 25+ STATES
At 7 p.m. CT, a Tornado Emergency was issued for parts of Adams and Franklin counties in Mississippi, including the towns of Garden City and Bude.
Radar indicated a significant debris signature at the time, with the National Weather Service reporting debris lofted up to 12,000 feet—an indicator of a potentially violent tornado.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Emergency for parts of Franklin and Lincoln counties in southeastern Mississippi, where a large, destructive tornado was confirmed near Meadville.
As severe storms battered the state, more than 20,000 customers were without power across Mississippi as of 9:30 p.m. EST.
The severe weather event generated large hail across affected areas, including reports of hail up to 2.75 inches in diameter in Waugh, Alabama, and Tucker, Mississippi.
A Tornado Watch has been issued for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas until 11 p.m. CDT. Over 2.4 million people across the watch area are under threat of tornadoes EF-2+ in strength, hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 70 mph.
Parts of Mississippi and Alabama are under a Level 3 out of 5 severe threat, where strong tornadoes could develop late.
Continuing the multi-day severe weather threat, storms are possible early in the day across Tennessee and into northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, possibly elevated due to an east-west outflow boundary.
The Fox Forecast Center said some gusty winds are possible with the early storms. However, the primary severe risk will develop during the late afternoon after 5 p.m. ET and into the early evening, as atmospheric energy builds.
WHAT IS A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM?
The severe risk may persist into the evening in Georgia as the southwesterly low-level jet brings instability into that area.
Corridors of damaging winds may evolve as well.
That said, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida all recorded zero tornado warnings in April — an astonishing feat last seen in 2012. Wednesday’s threat marks the first tornado risk for Georgia and Alabama since March 15.
Additionally, this setup is expected to bring several days of rain too, with the heaviest downpours expected Wednesday in the South due to the slow movement of the front and the potential for training storms over the same areas.
A large Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk is in place for a large portion of the Southeast. The rain will continue beyond Wednesday, where rain totals will generally mount up to 2 to 3 inches over a wide area.
Along with Wednesday’s severe weather threat across the Southeast, the massive cold front sweeping the nation is bringing broader impacts, including heavy rain to the Midwest and Northeast and an impactful snowstorm across the central Rockies.
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