Severe storms are heading toward the Pacific Northwest – as forecasters warn of devastating tornadoes and damaging winds on Tuesday night.
Bill Bunting, Storm Prediction Center specialist, said that tornadoes extending from Illinois to Louisiana are likely to continue overnight when most people are asleep and unprepared.
Just yesterday, around 10,000 were without power after the torrential weather hit St. Charles Parish with winds of 86 to 110 miles per hour.
And much of the region is now under an extreme weather warning – meaning that the likelihood of dangerous tornados and winds hitting is very high.
The lower Mississippi River Valley areas of Memphis and Bartlett, Tennessee, Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Monroe, Louisiana have received a level three out of five enhanced storm risk that will impact more than three million people, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
‘Unfortunately, it does appear that the severe storm threat will continue into the evening and overnight hours on Tuesday,’ Bunting told CNN. ‘This storm system will have the potential to produce severe thunderstorms capable of tornadoes, damaging straight-line winds, and also large hail.’
Tornadoes and high winds are predicted to hit the lower Mississippi River Valley on Tuesday night
The areas expected to be the most impacted extend through Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana
The storm warning comes after a tornado hit Paradis, Louisiana – which is right outside of New Orleans – on Saturday and left thousands without power. Pictured: A classroom that got torn apart by the tornado
A mobile trailer was overturned after the tornado hit the city on Saturday
Thousands were left without power after the storm hit
Forecasters warned that tornadoes can occur overnight when people are asleep, and the areas most at risk are between Illinois and Louisiana
Forecasters warned that the level three warning can shift to level five and move toward the cities that have lower storm risks, such as Houston and Pasadena, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
‘The details regarding areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer as Tuesday approaches and smaller-scale trends become more evident,’ Bunting said.
Some areas can see up to four inches of rainfall as the storm is expected to occur overnight. The warning comes after Paradis, Louisiana – about 20 miles outside of New Orleans – was hit by a tornado on Saturday.
The Storm Prediction Center’s weather map shows the effects of the storm will hit from southern Texas and into Wisconsin and Michigan.
Tornadoes are predicted to occur overnight with the areas from Louisiana to Illinois having the most risks, according to Bunting.
Bunting warned that Tornadoes at night are more dangerous than during the day since less people are typically aware of the incoming storm during normal sleep hours.
‘Another challenge with nighttime tornadoes, especially in the fall and winter, is that storms typically move very quickly, at times 50 or 60 mph,’ Bunting told the news outlet.
The effects of the storm are expected to extend toward southern Texas
In the southeast, wind advisories are set for about nine million people on Monday, including in Louisiana where a tornado was confirmed Saturday. Pictured: a damaged roof
A tree was seen damaged after the tornado ripped through the city
Video showed the intense storms hitting the region with further footage seeing a ton of damage and downed power lines in the New Orleans metropolitan region
About 10,000 were without power after the weather hit St. Charles Parish with winds of 86 to 110 miles per hour
Parts of the city were left desolate by the tornado after it formed on Saturday afternoon and tore across the region before dying out
The recent storms have also been slowing Thanksgiving travelers down.
According to AAA, about 55 million people were expected to go more than 50 miles from home over the holiday, about 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
Flight Aware, which tracks delays and cancellations, has reported 34 flight delays and 400 cancellations within, in and out of the US so far on Tuesday. Meanwhile, 8,740 delays were reported as of Sunday afternoon with 1,954 flights cancelled.
In the southeast, wind advisories are set for about nine million people on Monday, including in Louisiana where a tornado was confirmed Saturday.
Video showed the intense storms hitting the region with further footage seeing a ton of damage and downed power lines in the New Orleans metropolitan region.
The area has also faced multiple marine warnings throughout the evening due to the wind and rain.
Forecasters warned people near the tornado’s path to be aware of flying debris that might damage mobile homes, roofs, windows and vehicles.
But with heavy rain hitting much of the southern half of the country and moving toward the mid-Atlantic region, cities from Chicago to Atlanta to Washington to Nashville could see travel impacted.