A dynamic storm system is setting up Wednesday across the South, with the possibility of severe storms and huge hail, especially in Texas and Florida.
Across central Texas, the threat of “very large to potentially giant hail” is a main concern, along with the risk of damaging winds, flash flooding and isolated tornadoes, especially in the evening, the Storm Prediction Center said.
“The tornado threat should increase significantly during this period, with the potential for a strong tornado or two,” it said.
Much of central Texas, including the Dallas Metroplex, is covered by a Level 3 of 5 “enhanced risk” for severe weather as the strongest rounds of storms are expected to fire up over Texas and Louisiana, south of a stationary front as a cold front approaches.
Shreveport, Louisiana, is covered by a Level 2 of 5 “slight risk” of severe weather. “Damaging winds and large hail will be the primary threats, but tornadoes will also be a concern,” the National Weather Service office there said.
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An excessive rainfall risk also covers the areas at risk for severe weather. Wednesday’s Level 2 of 4 “slight risk” of excessive rainfall includes much of East Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and northwest Louisiana. Up to 5 inches of rain are possible in isolated locations, which could lead to flash flooding, the prediction center said.
Meanwhile, parts of Florida, including Orlando, are in a separate “enhanced risk” severe weather zone where “significant hail (2+ inches diameter) may occur,” the prediction center warned. There’s also a slight risk for other parts of Florida, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
“A low-end potential exists for anomalously large hail the size of golf balls,” the weather service in Miami said, and damaging winds, frequent lightning and isolated tornadoes also will also be of concern.
While the main focus Wednesday will be across Texas and Florida, a Level 1 of 5 “marginal risk” for severe weather covers more than 25 million people from Oklahoma and Arkansas to Alabama.
By Thursday, the storms will push east, putting parts of Gulf Coast states further into harm’s way. Severe storms will be possible from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
A Level 2 of 5 risk will cover more than 6 million people in an area including Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A Level 1 of 5 threat will cover nearly 8 million people and include cities such as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and Columbus, Georgia.
The biggest threat Thursday for flash flooding will be along the Gulf Coast, from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, with rain falling at times at 2 to 3 inches per hour, the prediction center said. A much broader area as far north as Ohio will face a lesser “marginal risk” of excessive rainfall.
By Friday, the bulk of the rain will push east, impacting much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
