Storms capable of spawning tornadoes aim for Louisiana, Mississippi

By Kyle Elliott, AccuWeather meteorologist

February 7,2017, 9:02:35PM,EST

 

 A springlike storm system will trigger dangerous thunderstorms, including tornadoes from the Mississippi Valley to the Appalachians into Tuesday evening.

Into Tuesday evening, flooding rainfall, isolated damaging wind gusts and hail are in store for some locations from the lower part of the Mississippi River to the southern Appalachians and part of the upper Gulf coast.
"A few of the strongest thunderstorms from eastern Louisiana to southern Mississippi and southern Alabama have the potential to produce a tornado," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "People in this swath should keep a close eye on the sky and severe weather bulletins as they are issued," Sosnowski said.

Cities in the path of the most dangerous storms include New Orleans and Hammond, Louisiana; Hattiesburg and Biloxi, Mississippi; and Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama.
Farther north, from around Interstate 20 to the I-70 corridor, a few storms can produce strong wind gusts and urban flooding.
Cities that could be targeted by disruptive thunderstorms with torrential downpours include Cincinnati; Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta. In a few cases, the storms can become strong enough to down tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages.
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An abundance of moisture being drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico will provide the fuel necessary for these storms to erupt.
Reduced visibility caused by blinding downpours are set to wreak havoc on airline travel and produce numerous flight delays from Cincinnati to Atlanta.
Areas struck by multiple rounds of thunderstorms stand the greatest risk of urban and small stream flooding.
Excess water on roadways will enhance the risk for hydroplaning. To reduce this risk, motorists traveling on wet roadways should significantly reduce their speed to lower the risk of an accident.
By late Tuesday night, the threat for flooding rainfall and damaging wind gusts is expected to diminish.