Over 25 Million Under the Risk of Severe Storms Thursday

Another heightened day of severe weather is expected on Thursday from the lower Mississippi Valley, to the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.  Severe thunderstorms capable of damaging winds, isolated tornadoes, and hail are likely. Due this increased risk, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a moderate risk, which is the second highest severe category.

The forecast for Thursday is somewhat complex, due to a large area of cloud cover and areas of shower activity remaining over region where severe weather is expected to occur by Thursday afternoon. This dense cloud cover and areas of rain could inhibit the severe potential from truly being maximized.

There does seem to be a small amount of destabilization expected during the late morning into early afternoon, which may provide enough fuel for storms to become severe. A cold front will begin to push into the area by early afternoon, which will trigger off thunderstorms along and ahead of this front. As mentioned, the degree of the severity of storms will greatly depend on how much destabilization occurs during the day Thursday.

Storms should remain isolated for some period of time ahead of the cold front, which is when the greatest threat of tornadoes will occur. Eventually storms will merge into a line, which will transition the greatest risk over to a damaging wind threat. Isolated embedded tornadoes will still be possible within this line of storms.

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