Severe Weather Targeting Eastern Half of the U.S. Through the Week

The threat of severe weather will be a constant storyline this week for much of the eastern half of the country. Over a dozen states stretching from the Plains, the Gulf Coast, and over to the East Coast will be in the crosshairs of sporadic storms. Here is a deeper dive into the timing of the storms in the days ahead.

Rinse and Repeat Cycle of Storms for Central and Eastern U.S.

The weather forecast is calling for a rinse and repeat cycle for the central and eastern U.S. this week before targeting the south-central U.S. over the weekend. Likely impacts include wind-driven torrential rain, hail, and the threat of tornadoes. Motorists and air travelers will want to be ready for disruptions at the hands of Mother Nature as the storms roll through.

Winds will be strong enough to bring down trees and power lines. Meanwhile, the hail could damage vehicles and lead to broken windows. You also cannot rule out the chance of tornadic activity within the strongest storm cells.

Volatile Tuesday Weather Will Creep Into Wednesday

It was a volatile day of weather on Tuesday across the southern Plains, the mid-Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley. Roof damage was reported just north of Tulsa on Tuesday morning as winds whipped up across the region. The community of Miami in Oklahoma also reported downed trees and power poles.

It was a similar situation heading up into the southwestern corner of Missouri. Springfield-Branson Airport recorded a wind gust of 91 mph, damaging a maintenance facility as well as an airplane that was parked in a storage unit.

The silver lining is that Tuesday's storms moved at a fast clip across the Midwest and into the Northeast, helping to mitigate the damage.

Heading into Wednesday, the primary storm threats will train over the southern Plains and to the northeast into the lower portions of the Ohio Valley. Like Tuesday, damaging winds and hail will be the greatest concerns.

The Wednesday activity is expected to move at a slower pace when compared to Tuesday. This will raise the chances of flash flooding in areas that see repeated downpours. The system responsible for Wednesday's severe weather is forecast to get stuck as it churns over the southern Plains. The result will be a higher risk of severe weather across North Texas and over into the Ark-La-Tex region.

Dallas will be at the heart of the action on Wednesday. The metroplex is bracing for persistent thunderstorms throughout the day that will unleash over an inch of rainfall. It will be a day of moderate temperatures, with highs in the low 70s and readings that bottom out at about 63 degrees overnight. You can expect winds out of the south-southeast at 10 to 15 mph.

The day will start on a docile night in Little Rock. The capital city of Arkansas is preparing for the storms to fire up in the evening and overnight hours, ushering in the potential of severe impacts. Residents will want to enable smartphone weather alerts before going to bed. Highs will climb into the low 80s with readings forecast to drop to about 62 degrees overnight. It will be a breezy day with winds out of the south-southwest at 10 to 20 mph.

The line of rain will push to the northeast, with St. Louis expecting rain showers early that will evolve into thunderstorms after the sun goes down. Highs will reach about 72 degrees in the Arch City with lows expected to slip into the low 60s.

Wednesday's weather will target the same general area that has seen significant amounts of moisture as of late. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flood watches for a zone from northern Texas and into Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas, the southeastern corner of Kansas, and southern Missouri. Metro areas that should be ready for flooding include Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Springfield, Missouri.

Thursday's Forecast Will See Storms Migrate Farther to the Northeast

The storm cells will stretch farther to the northeast on Thursday. However, this does not mean that the southern Plains will be in the clear yet. A renewed surge of cooler and less humid air will clash with the warm and humid conditions still in place over the southern and eastern U.S. to set off Thursday's activity.

The forecast is calling for severe weather for parts of Texas and up into western New York. All modes of impacts are on the table, including damaging winds, hail, flash flooding, and isolated tornadoes.

Nashville will be one of the major metro areas that is likely to get caught in the crosshairs of these storms. The storms are predicted to erupt in the afternoon and hang around into the evening hours. Gusty winds and small hail could whip across the Music City. The mercury will hit the 80-degree mark before settling in the low 60s overnight.

The storms will take longer to push into the interior portions of the Northeast. Pittsburgh will see dry conditions early with just a shot of a stray thunderstorm or rain shower in the afternoon. The action will get started in the evening hours over the Steel City. It will be a warm day with highs in the low 80s and readings bottoming out in the mid 60s after the sun goes down. The forecast is also calling for winds out of the south at 10 to 15 mph in this part of western Pennsylvania.

On the other side of the line of storms, Shreveport, Louisiana, is also predicted to see a higher chance of storms in the latter part of the day. The threat will persist into the evening before diminishing overnight. It will be a warm and muggy day with humidity levels hovering at about 75% and highs in the mid 80s.

Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coastline Forecast to See a Stormy Friday

Heading into the end of the work week, the storms will become more entrenched across the Gulf Coast region before moving over to the Atlantic Seaboard. Storm activity that does not erupt until the late afternoon and evening will likely be the strongest due to the natural heating of the day.

This will be the case in New Orleans where the storms are not anticipated to come to life until the latter part of the day. The Crescent City is expecting a high of about 84 degrees with lows that land at the 70-degree mark.

Going back to Shreveport, the city in the western edge of the state will see more storms throughout the day and evening. The arrival of a cool front will bring the high down about 10 degrees from Thursday's high, bottoming out in the mid 70s.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the long-range forecast models are indicating that the storm machine will reload across the Southwest and the south-central U.S. Some parts of the southern Rockies and the High Plains will see this threat lingering into the early part of next week.

We will continue to monitor the progression of these storms in the days ahead and update accordingly. The High Plains could use the moisture as this region has been grappling with building drought conditions this spring. However, the risk of flash flooding will also be a concern over the southern Plains as the first full week of May kicks off.

Did you find this content useful? Feel free to bookmark or to post to your timeline for reference later.