The threat of severe thunderstorms and dangerous flash flooding will develop in the vicinity of a front that is draped from the Ohio Valley to the southern Plains. Locally heavy rain may cause flash flooding, but a few additional tornadoes are also possible into Saturday night.
As of Saturday evening, there have been multiple reports of damaging tornadoes with fatalities in the Dallas srea, including a likely tornado that destroyed structures in Lancaster, about 10 miles south of Dallas. A large passed through the Rowlett area and has a history of producing a substantial swath of damage. Elsewhere, an unconfirmed tornado was also reported in McClain County, Oklahoma.
(MORE: Deadly Tornadoes Around Dallas)
Through the weekend, the potential for flash flooding will become even more widespread, while the threat of severe storms gradually moves east from Texas to the Lower Mississippi Valley.
The National Weather Service office in St. Louis said in their forecast discussion on Saturday that life threatening flash flooding along creeks, streams and other low lying areas is expected, along with major to historic flooding on area rivers through Monday.
(MORE: Latest News on Tornado Damage and Flooding)
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch valid until 11 p.m. CST for much of northern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. This watch area includes Dallas and Waco in Texas, as well as McAlester, Oklahoma.
Flood Alerts
Short-Term Thunderstorm Forecast
The greatest severe threat into Saturday night will be on the warm side of Winter Storm Goliath, where a moist flow of air from the Gulf of Mexico will surge northwestward. Thunderstorms that develop in this warm, unstable air have the potential to produce severe thunderstorms into Saturday night across the southern Plains and lower Ozarks.
Saturday Evening
- Threat areas: North and central Texas, southern to eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas and southern Missouri. Locally heavy rain and flooding may impact this area and locations further northeast across Missouri.
- Potential threats: Damaging winds, large hail, a few tornadoes and flash flooding.
- Cities: Dallas-Fort Worth | San Antonio
- Threat areas: Strong to severe thunderstorms will move east-southeast through the pre-dawn hours across central to North Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. An expansive area of heavy rain will lead to additional flash flooding over Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana.
- Potential threats: Damaging winds, large hail, a few tornadoes and flash flooding.
- Cities: Dallas-Fort Worth | Waco, Texas
- Threat areas: A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to approach the I-35 corridor in North Texas in the morning. Through the day, those storms will progress across southern and eastern Texas and into Arkansas and Louisiana. A few additional supercell thunderstorms may also form out ahead of the main line. Storms may reach western Mississippi overnight. Locally heavy rain will continue to pose a flooding threat across parts of eastern Oklahoma, southern Missouri and Arkansas.
- Potential threats: Damaging winds, a few tornadoes, flash flooding and a few instances of hail.
- Cities: Houston | Jackson, Mississippi | Shreveport
Sunday's Thunderstorm Forecast
- The threat of severe weather may continue in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, southern Tennessee, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle.
Total Rainfall Forecast
Latest Radar
Current Radar with Watches and Warnings
For radar and watch/warning information in other areas of the country, click on the links below.
(MORE: View National Interactive Radar Map | Difference Between a Watch and a Warning)
Storm Reports this Week
Christmas Day (Friday):An EF-0 tornado caused tree damage about three miles southwest of the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Thunderstorms caused downed trees and power lines on the north side of Columbus, Mississippi.
A preliminary EF-2 tornado affected the southwest side of Birmingham, Alabama early Friday evening, where local officials reported structural damage and residents trapped in their homes. As of Friday night, the city of Birmingham reported than a two square mile radius area suffered damage from the storm.
An EF-0 tornado also has been confirmed near Pineville, Mississippi, which downed trees and damaged a chicken house Friday afternoon.
High water left numerous roads impassable in Cleveland, Tennessee. Several feet of water flooded a home and bridges were washed out in the Fairview, Alabama vicinity.
People were rescued from flash floods in several Alabama counties on Christmas Day, and mudslides were reported in parts of northwest Georgia.
Roads have been washed out in many locations across northern Alabama, which prompted the governor to issue a state of emergency for the entire state.
It was the wettest Christmas Day on record in both Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama, as well as Knoxville and Chattanooga in Tennessee.
Thursday:
Tree damage near Culloden, Alabama may have been caused by a tornado in the morning. Further west, an isolated supercell caused a tornado in El Dorado County, California during the afternoon. Multiple videos shared over social media showed a relatively small tornado in the vicinity of Folsom Lake. Spotty, minor damage was reported from that tornado.
A flash flood emergency was issued for Gilmer County, Georgia, where river gauges were near or approaching record levels. Rescues and evacuations were reported in the county as well, according to an emergency manager report to the National Weather Service.
Recent heavy rain caused mudslides in Macon County, North Carolina, and flash flooding in other parts of northern Georgia.
Wednesday:
The preliminary estimated tornado count for Wednesday is 23, according to severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel.
The first in a series of tornadoes across Mississippi and Tennessee struck the area near and immediately east of Clarksdale, Mississippi, shortly after 3 p.m. CST. Damage from an "exceptionally long-track, violent tornado" carved a path across most of northwestern Mississippi, extending into southwestern Tennessee, or a distance of greater than 100 miles. Storm survey results from the National Weather Service later this week will conclude if this damage was one from continuous tornado or multiple, shorter-lasting tornadoes.
As of Friday evening, at least two of the tornadoes were rated at EF3 intensity. Elsewhere, isolated tornadoes have been confirmed in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and West Virginia. Michigan observed their first December tornado on record and a few other tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas and Illinois.
Tornado Reports
(MORE: Deadliest December Tornadoes)
About 170 reports of wind damage have been received in a swath from southeast Oklahoma, eastward across the Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley, to as far north as southeastern Lower Michigan between 7 a.m EST Wednesday and 7 a.m. EST Thursday. The most significant wind-damage was in Sharp County, Arkansas, where several homes were reportedly destroyed. There have been multiple reports of large hail, mainly from eastern Arkansas into Kentucky, which have caused some damage to vehicles.
Tuesday:
There were no significant severe weather reports on Tuesday, however heavy rain did cause some flash flooding in parts of South Carolina, including around the Columbia area.
Monday:
The National Weather Service confirmed three EF1 tornadoes in southwest Louisiana on Monday.
There were reports of trees down near Calcasieu, Louisiana, along with power outages and one person injured in a camping trailer. South of Alexandria, Louisiana near Woodworth, winds during a thunderstorm damaged a car and trees were downed.
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