Severe storms, tornadoes to eye Louisiana to Florida

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

February 22,2016; 10:22PM,EST

 

 

Severe weather, including the threat of tornadoes, will return to the Southeast and southern mid-Atlantic by the middle of this week.
The same winter storm set to spread disruptive snow into the Midwest and push drenching rain across the Northeast's Interstate-95 corridor threatens to ignite severe weather in the Southeast.
Locally heavy thunderstorms will first ignite in south-central Texas and will expand and strengthen as they roll eastward during Monday night.
For a portion of the central Gulf Coast states, this may develop into a very dangerous situation.

"There is the potential for not only a severe weather outbreak, but also a number of tornadoes from Louisiana to western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity.
After rain and thunder to start the week, severe thunderstorms will erupt across southeastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday.
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A secondary batch of locally heavy thunderstorms may develop in the Carolinas on Tuesday morning, before weakening, while lifting northward.
"Conditions will be conducive for severe thunderstorms to spread into the mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday," AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Storm Warning Meteorologist Alex Avalos said.

The main batch of severe thunderstorms will push eastward across the Carolinas and southern Virginia and southward through the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday.
Cities in the severe weather threat zone include: Houston; New Orleans and Lake Charles, Louisiana; Jackson and Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia.
Some of the same communities at risk are still dealing with the aftermath left by the severe weather early last week.

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The risk will extend northward to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Wednesday night.
The strongest thunderstorms will be capable of producing damaging winds, hail and downpours.
"A few tornadoes will be possible on Wednesday," Avalos said. "The tornado threat should be confined to more of eastern North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia during Wednesday."
Farther north, a band of drenching rain with strong winds at the coast will push through the remainder of the I-95 corridor in the Northeast late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Even in the absence of severe weather, residents are reminded to seek shelter as soon as thunder is heard. Stay ahead of violent thunderstorms with AccuWeather MinuteCast®.
The passage of a cold front will sweep away the severe weather danger and open the door for drier and less volatile air to filter in later in the week.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.