30 million people brace for more severe weather after deadly tornado outbreak
Around 30 million people from Texas to Illinois are bracing for another day of potentially destructive storms following a tornado outbreak that slammed communities across the Heartland to the East Coast.
Since Thursday, at least 28 people have been killed, including 19 in Kentucky, where a powerful twister tore through Laurel County in the southeastern part of the state, officials said.
More than 100 tornadoes were reported from Colorado to New Jersey since Thursday. They killed seven in Missouri, where a tornado with a preliminary intensity rating of EF-3 -- on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of zero to five -- and packing 152 mph buzzsaw-like winds wreaked havoc in St. Louis, officials said.
There were four reported tornadoes on Monday night -- three in Nebraska and one in Oklahoma.
There were more than 250 severe weather reports across the Plains and Midwest on Monday, which marked the fourth day of a multi-day severe weather outbreak.
Tornado watch continues into early Tuesday morning for eastern Missouri, southwest Illinois, Arkansas and a few counties in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas.
Early Monday morning, officials said tornadoes hit Stafford, Reno and Grove Counties in Kansas, causing massive damage to the cities of Plevna and Grinnell. Grapefruit-size hail was also reported in Arnett in Anderson County, Kansas.
As first responders across the Heartland continued to search for victims on Monday morning and devastated residents combed through the rubble of their destroyed homes, more severe weather is being forecast.
According to the National Weather Service, eastern Oklahoma was under a moderate risk of receiving destructive storms on Monday, as well as parts of northwest Arkansas and Joplin, Missouri. Possible high-end, long-track tornadoes, large hail and destructive thunderstorms could hit the areas, officials said.
An enhanced risk of severe weather is forecast from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri.
Developing thunderstorms along the Oklahoma-Arkansas border are expected to intensify Monday afternoon and several tornadoes are likely, along with the potential for large hail and damaging wind gusts.
Storms are expected to quickly explode and intensify on Monday afternoon from northeast Texas to eastern Kansas.
The bad weather is expected to spill into Tuesday. Flash flooding is possible in southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas through Tuesday morning.
A line of storms is forecast to sweep through the South on Tuesday, reaching Memphis and Nashville by Tuesday afternoon.
Rain is forecast to spread to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City early Wednesday and scattered showers are expected to linger through Thursday.
Part of what’s been fueling the severe weather outbreak has been extremely hot temperatures, which are expected to continue through at least Wednesday.
In Texas, Dallas is expected to be in the mid-80s over the next three days, while San Antonio has the potential to break a daily high temperature record on Tuesday, when it is expected to reach 102 degrees. Houston could also see a daily record fall on Tuesday, when the temperature is forecast to rise to 98.
Meanwhile, Orlando, Florida, could break daily high temperature records with back-to-back days of 97-degree weather on Monday and Tuesday. Savannah, Georgia, could also set a new daily high temperature mark on Tuesday, when it is expected to reach 96 degrees.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of reported tornadoes.
