A general view of a house leaning on its side after being hit by a tornado in Temple, Texas on Thursday. Severe storms are moving East for Memorial Day, forecasters said on Monday. Photo by Adam Davis/EPA-EFE
Forecasters predicted severe thunderstorms and heavy rain to slam the eastern United States on Memorial Day with isolated severe storms hitting the southern Plains, according to the National Weather Service.
It was the most-active severe storm day of the year Sunday, one day after tornadoes struck Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. There were at least 622 preliminary reports of severe weather from Wyoming to New Hampshire, according to Storm Prediction Center data. The previous high was 565 reports on May 8. Advertisement
“After multiple days in a row of the central U.S. facing severe weather, the threat will finally shift eastward,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski. “The risk will extend from the Southeast northward into New York State, parts of New England, and even into southern Canada.”
The severe weather that hit the middle of the country this week is expected to turn to the east along with a cold front extending south from a low-pressure system that is expected to cover the Great Lakes.
“Ongoing storms stretching from the upper Ohio Valley to the lower Mississippi Valley are expected to weaken this morning,” the weather service said Monday. “Redevelopment is likely [Monday]afternoon along and ahead of this boundary. Advertisement
“Clusters of merging thunderstorms are possible in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, which may also contain intense rainfall rates. This heavy rain could lead to scattered instances of flash flooding from northeast Maryland to the Catskill Mountains of New York, where a slight risk of excessive rainfall is in effect through [Monday night].”
AccuWeather said 110 million will likely see severe weather risk, including cities like Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, N.C. Forecasters said
Parts of major highways will see strong weather including Interstates 76, 80, 81, 87, 90, and 95.
In the nation, 572,579 were without power Monday afternoon, including 164,147 in Kentucky, according to Poweroutages.us.
At least 21 people died, including four children, after 14 reported tornadoes hit Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas on Saturday and Sunday . The seven dead in Texas included three family members in Texas found in one home near the small community of Valley View.
At least eight people reportedly died in Arkansas and five in Kentucky.
