A sprawling storm system barreling out of Texas is slamming the Mississippi Valley with dangerous weather Saturday, threatening more than 50 million Americans with tornadoes, large hail and destructive winds.
Warm, humid air surging north from the Gulf of Mexico collided with a powerful cold front sweeping through the nation’s midsection, setting off explosive conditions across the Ark-La-Tex region and the Ozarks, according to Fox Weather.
National Weather Service had issued tornado watches for parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas through Saturday night.
Severe thunderstorm watches stretched east across the lower Mississippi Valley, Fox Weather reported.
The storm systems are said to be capable of producing large hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes well into Saturday evening.
Meteorologist Nick Kosir said a “big cold front” is driving the chaos.
“Conditions are expected to become more unstable as we go throughout the day with all severe weather threats on the board,” Kosir said.
“Some of these areas — Little Rock, Fort Smith (Arkansas) and some of the spots just to the south are a bit in the bullseye when it comes to the potential for severe weather.”
The system is expected to lash cities including Memphis, Tenn.; Jackson, Miss.; Shreveport, La.; and Springfield, Ill. with powerful gusts, torrential rain and hail up to an inch and a half in diameter.
Forecasters said isolated tornadoes could spin up quickly within the storms. Winds of up to 75 mph are possible, capable of downing trees and power lines.
“October, we see tornadoes popping up, but not as common,” meteorologist Bayne Froney said.
“It’s just a good reminder to always be aware and keep your wits about you, even as we move into those cooler weather days.”
Froney added that residents should also brace for flash floods.
“This is kind of our second severe season that we see coming into the fall as those temperatures start to collide, but also to watch out for that flash flood warning, or flash flood threat that’s going to be imminent too, because that rain is going to be packing a punch,” Froney said.
The Storm Prediction Center placed more than 13 million people in a level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather — covering Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri and parts of Oklahoma and Texas.
Another 40 million across the Gulf Coast, southern Plains and Ohio Valley were under a level 1 threat.
Meteorologists said isolated supercells could merge into a larger line of storms later Saturday, increasing the risk of damaging winds and brief tornado spinups overnight as the front presses toward the Gulf Coast.
The volatile system will continue marching east Sunday into Monday, spreading thunderstorms across the Southeast and Appalachians.
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