Tornado threat returns to South after deadly storms last week

Wednesday

As the threat for severe storms will shift eastward Wednesday, stretching from the mid-South to the Gulf Coast, the odds for tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail will increase. Drivers will hit many more areas of severe weather Wednesday. Some of the cities under the gun include New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson and Tupelo, Mississippi; Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; as well as  Little Rock, Arkansas.

A few severe storms Wednesday could reach parts of the Ohio Valley.

Thursday

The risk of severe storms and tornadoes will decrease Thursday, back to about the same level as Tuesday. The potential strike zone will be from Tallahassee, Florida, to portions of the mid-Atlantic, including the Atlanta area.

An additional potential threat with these storms will be torrential rain and periods of flash flooding, leading to possible road closures. Also, winds in some places could gust as high as 50 mph prior to any thunderstorms arriving. Once those storms turn severe, they could produce winds in excess of 60 or 70 mph.

Major lanes of concern

• Interstate 10 from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Jacksonville, Florida.
• Interstate 20 from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Augusta, Georgia.
• Interstate 35 from Des Moines to Dallas.
• Interstate 40 from Oklahoma City to Nashville.
• Interstate 70 from Topeka to Terre Haute, Indiana.
• Interstate 55 from St. Louis to New Orleans.
• Interstate 65 from Louisville, Kentucky, to New Orleans.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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