Floods and tornadoes continue in the US: bad weather has claimed the lives of at least 7 people

After a series of tornadoes overnight April 2-4, a destructive weather front will still pose a danger to millions of people. The storm will last until April 6, warns The Washington Post.

Photo: Agnieszka Mac Uchman | Dreamstime.com

A devastating storm battered parts of the southern United States on April 3, killing at least seven people as tornadoes, strong winds and heavy rains caused damage and flooding in several states.

Four million people in seven states, from northeast Texas to west Tennessee, were threatened by what the Weather Prediction Center called "prolonged, life-threatening flash flooding."

By the evening of April 3, more than 30 tornadoes had been recorded, and some communities had seen baseball-sized hail. More than 200 customers were without power from Mississippi to Michigan. In Nashville, tornado sirens blared for so long that they failed, and streets were completely flooded.

On the subject: Storm of the Century Heading for the US: Forecasters Predict Flooding, Hail, Tornadoes

Five people were killed in Tennessee, one in Missouri and one in Indiana, state officials said. One person died in the middle of the night when his home in Fayette County, Tennessee, was turned upside down, according to the state emergency management agency. A second person in the same incident later died of his injuries. In Indiana, one person died after driving his car over a fallen power line.

The chance of additional tornadoes remains high on April 4. The Storm Prediction Center issued a moderate (level 4 out of 5) risk for severe thunderstorms, including parts of Arkansas. In addition, an excessive precipitation warning, the highest level set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was issued for parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky on the evening of April 3.

Parts of Tennessee were hit by heavy rains. Nashville issued a flash flood warning after its airport received about 76 inches (100 mm) of rain by Thursday morning — nearly as much as the average monthly rainfall in April (about XNUMX inches). In McNairy County, the storm caused major communication outages, and video released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol showed firefighters wading through debris.

"Due to continued extreme weather and increasing flooding in the coming days, we are unable to immediately assess all damage as our priority right now is to issue early warnings," Daron Jones of the National Weather Service in Memphis said April 3. He said the agency would send teams to assess damage and to areas where storm-related deaths were reported.

The unfavorable weather has been going on for several days now.
On the evening of April 2, storm chasers approached an extremely powerful twister that tore through Lake City, Arkansas. The northern suburbs of Indianapolis were hit by a devastating tornado that night, which reportedly partially destroyed a warehouse and appeared to cause flooding in parts of the city.

Early in the morning of April 3, the tornado risk zone shifted east. Although there is no official confirmation, it is believed that the communities of Selmer and Bethel Springs, Tennessee, may have been hit by two tornadoes just over two hours apart. Thunderstorms with tornado warnings then passed near Nashville, and sirens were sounded throughout the city.

A state of emergency has been declared in Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, and in Missouri, Governor Mike Keough signed an executive order calling in the National Guard.

The threat of extreme weather will remain across the central United States through the morning of April 6, before shifting east as more heavy rain and possible thunderstorms hit areas from Texas to Ohio.

A moderate risk level (level 3 of 4) on the excessive precipitation scale covers more than 9 million people from Arkansas to Ohio, while a high risk level (level 4 of 4) is in effect for more than 2,5 million people in eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky.

The Excessive Rainfall Outlook (ERO) scale is a risk level system used by the National Weather Service's (NWS) National Weather Prediction Center (WPC) to assess the likelihood of heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding.

The scale includes 4 risk levels:

1. Marginal risk (Level 1 of 4) - low probability of local flooding.
2. Moderate risk (Slight, level 2 of 4) - the possibility of more significant flooding affecting several areas.
3. High Risk (Moderate, Level 3 of 4) – high probability of flash floods with threat to life and property.
4. High risk (level 4 of 4) – an extreme situation with a very high probability of catastrophic flooding.

The higher the risk level, the more likely it is that heavy rainfall will cause hazardous conditions. High risks are rarely declared, but when they are, the potential for devastating consequences is very high.

Rainfall amounts could reach up to 150 mm in the worst-hit areas, with a chance or high chance of river flooding in several states.

An elevated risk (level 3 of 5) for severe thunderstorms covers parts of southeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Texas, Arkansas, extreme northern Louisiana, northern Mississippi, western Tennessee and extreme southeastern Missouri, home to more than 4 million people.

On the cold side of the storm, more than half a meter of snow had already fallen in northern Minnesota by the morning of April 3. Rainfall amounts of 100 to 200 inches were common across the region, as far west as the Dakotas.

Winter weather will also hit northern New England, where freezing rain will create hazardous travel conditions.

The threat of excessive rainfall and severe thunderstorms will remain through the weekend across parts of the Mid-South due to an "atmospheric bottleneck" causing repeated storm impacts across the same areas.

On April 4, the risk of flooding from heavy rainfall will be highest from northeast Texas to southern Indiana, further west than the April 3 risk area.

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Thunderstorms are expected to threaten the same corridor, with tornado potential remaining high again.

From April 5 through early April 6, a high risk of excessive precipitation will return to the same areas that were heavily impacted April 2-3, from eastern Arkansas to southern Indiana.

By the time the storm ends, some areas are likely to receive more than 500 mm of rain.

On April 6, the atmospheric front will move towards the east coast of the United States.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Tornadoes and strong winds hit the southern US, with fatalities reported

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Florida weather presenter broadcasts live from tornado site

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