A severe storm brought three days of extreme weather to a large swath of the South, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic over the weekend. Tornadoes, hail, flooding, and extreme winds wreaked havoc from Texas to Pennsylvania. Nine people died as a result of the storm, with causes ranging from trees falling to drowning in floodwaters. The number of confirmed tornadoes continues to climb as investigations continue, but as of this writing, the number has risen to 41 across 9 states. High winds, with speeds recorded up to 136 mph, destroyed dozens of homes. Over 200,000 residents lost power across the states. As communities still reel from the damage, another nearly identical storm is starting to move across Texas.
NOAA/National Weather Service: Home Destroyed in a Tornado
NOAA/National Weather Service: Tornado Damage
A Repeat of Last Weekend’s Devastating Storm
The National Weather Service is predicting an enhanced risk of tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding caused by a massive storm again across the Southern United States on Wednesday, moving to the East Coast by Friday. In addition to causing damage to new areas unaffected by the storm over last weekend, this storm could also exacerbate damage to areas already hit hard by the previous system. Heavy rainfall will likely lead to flash flooding in areas where the soil is already saturated. River flooding is also likely in the Midwest, due to melting snow pack combining with the added rainfall overwhelming the rivers. Be sure to stay up to date on these threats, and take any safety precautions necessary if you live near the affected regions. To see the latest warnings and updates from the National Weather Service, click here.
Sources:
https://weather.com/news/news/2019-04-13-severe-impacts-tornado-texas-louisiana-mississippi-alabama
https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/2019-04-12-severe-threat-tornado-wind-hail-mid-april
