Severe storms to pummel southeastern US into Wednesday night

By Faith Eherts, AccuWeather meteorologist

May 24,2017, 4:55:25PM,EDT

 

 Another round of severe storms is in store for the southeastern United States into Wednesday night, as the rounds of wet weather continue.

Despite below average temperatures in the region over the past couple of days, there is still enough warmth and plenty of humidity to fuel drenching and locally severe storms.
"Two storm systems will continue the risk of severe weather and cause the risk to be more extensive, when compared to Tuesday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Four houses were damaged on Wednesday afternoon by a possible tornado as it tracked near Prosperity, South Carolina, a 911 call center reported.
Thnderstorms also brought gusty winds to Orlando with gusts over 45 mph around the city as a line of storms moved through.

"One storm will continue to affect the Florida Peninsula, while a new storm spreads the severe weather risk to much of Georgia, the Carolinas, eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and southern Virginia," Sosnowski said.
Cities including Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando, Florida; Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina; and Charlotte, Fayetteville and Wilmington, North Carolina; Roanoke, Virginia; Charleston, West Virginia; Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee; and London, Kentucky, could all be impacted by severe weather.
“The primary threats will include torrential downpours and damaging wind gusts, but isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.
In some cases the tornadoes could be concealed by heavy rain. As a result, driving through thunderstorms could be especially dangerous in this case.
Residents should secure any outdoor furniture or move it indoors ahead of any storms to minimize damage and should stay up-to-date on local watches and warnings.
Motorists should never attempt to drive through flooded roadways. Seek an alternate route or pull well off the highway in a spot located on high ground.
The severe threat will begin to wane Wednesday night as one storm presses toward the Atlantic coast.
However, the threat will continue in central Florida overnight as the second storm system continues to crawl southward, Adamson stated.
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Due to the recent heavy rainfall, many areas are already experiencing flooding in the Southeast.
Savannah, Georgia, has received over 350 percent of its monthly average rainfall. Most of it fell on Monday and Tuesday of this week, when the city received over 7 inches of rain.
However, the reoccurring bouts of heavy rainfall are still welcome by many.

“The rain will put a damper on ongoing wildfires in the drought-stricken areas, including the West Mims Fire which has been raging since April 6,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.
As of May 18, 54 percent of Georgia and 66 percent of Florida were experiencing at least moderate drought conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor updates drought data once a week, and is likely to show a sharp decrease in drought areas across the Southeast later this week.
“Drier air will press in behind the storms, bringing clearing to the southern Atlantic Seaboard during the second half of the week,” said Duff.