Severe thunderstorms will continue to plow along a cold front crashing into warm and humid air this evening. Severe thunderstorms, with possible tornadoes caused extensive damage in the Hopkinsville, KY., area during the midday hours Monday.
During the middle of the afternoon, tornadoes had been spotted over Middle Tennessee, and 60-mph wind gusts occurred in the Muscle Shoals, Ala. area. This severe weather outbreak includes risks of large hail, damaging downburst wind gusts, flash and urban flooding, frequent lightning strikes and a few tornadoes.
At the local level, storms can produce wind gusts over 60 mph, golf ball-sized hail or larger and over an inch of rain in less than 1 hour. In some cases, tornadoes could be shrouded in rain or can occur after dark.
Overnight, the powerful thunderstorms will lose some intensity but may still cause damaging wind gusts and blinding, torrential downpours as they cross the Appalachians and the Interstate 81 corridor.
During the day Tuesday, the long line of thunderstorms will extend along much of the Interstate 95 corridor from New England to Florida. The greatest risk of damaging weather conditions will stretch from the southern part of the Delmarva to central Florida.
Changes in atmospheric conditions should take the edge off the strongest storms by Tuesday. However, there will continue to be an elevated risk of damaging wind gusts and blinding downpours that can lead to flash urban flooding.
Although the risk is slight, there could be a couple of tornadoes along the 1,500-mile-long stretch of Atlantic Seaboard real estate, especially across the southern part of this zone. Remember one of the most deadly aspects of thunderstorms is lightning. Move indoors or stay in your vehicle as storms approach.
If you can hear thunder, you are at risk for being hit by lightning. Open air structures and trees do not provide adequate protection from a lightning strike.
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist
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