Atlanta, New Orleans among major cities facing severe weather danger this week
The threat of severe weather and flash flooding will continue through Tuesday night as dangerous and damaging thunderstorms track eastward across the southern United States, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
The severe weather threat is being brought on by a large, strong storm system that will track from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest and central Canada into midweek. Assisting in the severe weather and flash flood risk will be an extensive area of unseasonable warmth that will be concentrated east of the Mississippi River through the middle of the week.
The area from the southern Plains through the Interstate 10 and 20 corridors of the South Central and Southeast states has been visited by multiple rounds of severe weather since the middle of autumn.
The most recent bout of severe thunderstorm activity occurred during a two-day stretch from Dec. 29-30. Just over a dozen severe weather incidents and a couple of tornadoes were reported during that time. A major outbreak of severe weather occurred a couple of weeks earlier and spanned four days from Dec. 12-15. This multi-day event produced 90 tornadoes from Texas and Oklahoma to Florida.
 |
The secondary severe weather season during the autumn in the southern U.S. is well known in the region and occurs as the jet stream amplifies and stronger storms push out of the Rockies and into the Plains and Mississippi Valley. Occasionally, the secondary severe weather season can extend right through the winter. The occasional strong storm systems are able to tap into warm, moist Gulf of Mexico air, just as they would during the springtime and the autumn.
The setup through Tuesday night and into Wednesday is no exception.
The main threats from the storms will be powerful wind gusts and flash flooding, AccuWeather Meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine said. However, a few of the strongest thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
 |
This radar image of the developing and advancing thunderstorms was captured during the afternoon hours on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. |
Three tornadoes were reported on Monday, including one near Jessieville, Arkansas, causing damage to at least 14 homes, multiple commercial buildings and several buildings at a local school district, including a local high school.
Trees and powerlines fell while school was in session, according to the Garland County Sheriff's Office, with two minor injuries reported by the school district's superintendent. All students and staff were accounted for. Most of Jessieville was reported to be without power following the storm. On Monday evening, a tornado reported in Montrose, Arkansas, in the southwest part of the state, left structural damage and people reportedly trapped in residences.
Tornadoes were not the only hazard ongoing with these storms. Lengthy periods of heavy rain led to flash and river flooding in some areas and led to poor visibility and several accidents on highways in the region.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, flash flood advisories and warnings were in effect from southwestern Pennsylvania to central Kentucky. In the city of Memphis, Tennessee, a section of Interstate 55 was closed due to flooding Tuesday morning. In less than 24 hours, Memphis was swamped with 4.51 inches of rain. Both flood watches and tornado watches were in effect from central Georgia to southeastern Louisiana.
In some cases, tornadoes can become rain-wrapped. Hilly, wooded terrain may also hide an approaching tornado until it's only seconds away from reaching a person's property. In other cases, a tornado may occur after dark. During the wintertime, severe storms are much less dependent on daytime heating when compared to the spring or summer.
AccuWeather forecasters warn all residents in the path of the storm to seek shelter immediately if a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning is issued for their location.
 |
Storms that continue to push eastward will organize into a line of heavy rain, gusty winds and frequent lightning. With the storms in a linear format, tornadoes will come more isolated with primarily a straight-line wind threat in place, though a few cannot be ruled out.
Well into Tuesday night, the risk of severe thunderstorms will be greatest, but not limited to the area from eastern Louisiana through central and southern portions of Mississippi to central Alabama. The cities of New Orleans and Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama, are within the zone at moderate risk of severe weather.
The threat of severe weather may extend as far to the east as the Atlanta metro area and as far south as New Orleans. Locally severe storms may erupt as far to the southeast as the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia as well.
 |
The risk of severe weather will continue farther to the east on Wednesday, with the risk of severe thunderstorms extending as far north as southeastern Virginia and as far south as the northern part of the Florida Peninsula during the afternoon and evening hours.
The overall concentration of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday is likely to be more sparse when compared to Monday and Tuesday, Johnson-Levine said. Many areas may only experience a few downpours, some of which may contain gusty winds and a few rumbles of thunder.
However, a small number of towns can still be hit by a severe thunderstorm on Wednesday. These storms will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts, flash flooding and a couple of tornadoes.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
