An intensifying region of low pressure moving from the Deep South up to the Great Lakes coupled with a powerful polar jet stream plunging southward is setting up conditions for a potentially dangerous outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the southern U.S. the next two days, according to The Weather Channel.
Tuesday and Tuesday night are currently seeing a TOR:CON value of six out of 10 for areas including Louisiana, southern Mississippi, western Florida along the panhandle and southern Alabama, implying a high probability of tornadoes occurring, per the Weather Channel's Greg Forbes.
Eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia are currently facing a TOR:CON value of five, reports Weather Underground. NOAA has issued moderate risk levels (the second highest of five levels) for areas of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, saying that EF2 or higher tornadoes are entirely possible.
Tuesday during the day should bring temperatures in the mid-60s to low-70s, with severe storms spanning from Houston and Jackson, Miss., out to New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Flash flooding and hail are also possible threats.
Tuesday night will see the storms continuing as the system moves north and east, striking Georgia and southern South Carolina, and working its way up into Tennessee and Kentucky, as far north as the greater Cincinnati area. The most severe storms will blanket most of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and the northwest of Florida along the panhandle, according to AccuWeather.
Heading into Wednesday, the storms will move northeast, still spanning most of Tennessee and Kentucky, but hitting as far north as Washington, D.C., and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Severe storms are expected in most of Florida but will have moved out of the panhandle. Knoxville and east to Hatteras, N.C., as well as all of South Carolina and the eastern half of Georgia will also be at risk for severe storms and potential tornadoes and damaging winds.
