NEW YORK — There is a major severe weather threat in the Plains on Saturday with more than 8 million people across seven states facing the possibility for dangerous weather.
A Moderate Risk (Level 4 out of 5) is in the outlook for parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri as the Storm Prediction Center warns of a few long-lived supercells capable of intense tornadoes that may occur with giant hail and destructive wind gusts expected.
Storms are expected to flare up during the late afternoon and continue into the evening hours on Saturday and those on the road for Memorial Day weekend are urged to pay attention to severe weather warnings.
On Sunday, the severe weather risk is expected to spread eastward and expand to include cities like Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville and Little Rock with damaging winds, large hail and strong tornadoes all possible.
Memorial Day brings a lesser chance of severe weather but the threat is expected to reach the East Coast with cities like Charlotte, Richmond and Baltimore all facing the possibility for severe storms.
Flooding rain may also be an issue along the East Coast as the saturated ground of the Northeast is facing another batch of rain on Monday with 1 to 2 inches of rainfall prompting a Memorial Day flash flood potential.
Most of the rain moves in later on Memorial Day so people may be able to salvage some outdoor plans in the morning.
Meanwhile, big time heat continues around the Gulf Coast with record highs likely this holiday weekend in cities like Houston, New Orleans, and Miami. The humidity is expected to be severe as heat index values should jump into the 110 to 118 degree range.
Heat alerts are in effect all across south Texas with more than 8 million people under Heat Alerts them on Saturday and will likely be extended to cover the next few days.