Much of the country is bracing for the risk of severe weather
Intense storms with winds gusting up to 90 mph and hail the size of baseballs are forecast to strike a large area of the Midwest and South on Friday, the National Weather Service warned.
An area that includes St. Louis, Missouri; Springfield, Illinois; southeast Iowa and western Tennessee and Kentucky are under a “moderate risk” of damaging storms, but other areas from Louisiana to Ohio and Wisconsin are also at some risk, the agency said.
The severe storms will likely be over the Lower and Mid-Missouri Valley, the Mississippi Valley and the Lower Ohio Valley late Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, the weather service said.
“Tornadoes, several of which could be strong, widespread damaging winds with gusts from 70 to 90 mph, and scattered large hail up to baseball size will be possible,” it said.
On Saturday, Louisiana, including New Orleans, will be under an increased risk of severe storms, with tornadoes possible, forecasters said.
“It’s going to be later that morning and into the afternoon and evening hours on Saturday where we’re going to likely be seeing a significant severe weather outbreak,” Kevin Gilmore, a meteorologist at the weather service’s office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge, said in a video briefing Thursday.
The area was under a threat level of three and four — or “enhanced” and “moderate” — out of five levels used by forecasters, which is unusual for this far out in advance, he said.
While the Midwest and South are bracing for possible severe storms Friday and Saturday, on Thursday there was a critical risk of fire in Texas and other parts of the Great Plains — and that extreme danger will continue into the weekend.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was directing additional state resources to respond to “extremely critical wildfire danger” expected to last through the weekend.
“With dry conditions, wind gusts, and low humidity increasing wildfire danger, Texans are encouraged to make an emergency plan, limit any activities that can cause a spark, and heed the guidance of local officials to keep yourself and your family safe,” Abbott said in a statement.
The weather service said that on Friday, “potentially historic fire-weather conditions” were likely across the southern Great Plains — with extreme risk in areas that include Lubbock and Wichita Falls in Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In the West, a winter storm has been blanketing the Sierra Nevada in California with snow. Tahoe City, on the western shore of Lake Tahoe, got 17 1/2 inches of snow by 10 a.m. Thursday, the weather service for the region said.
The snow was expected to take a break Thursday, the weather service said, but another storm will hit the Sierra on Friday and into Friday night.
In the Los Angeles area, a tornado hit the city of Pico Rivera Thursday morning. The high-end EF-0 tornado around 3:15 a.m. had maximum winds of 85 mph and tracked for around one mile, the weather service said after storm surveys were done.
Trees were uprooted and tree branches torn down, some of which landed on cars and roofs. The tornado itself also caused some roof damage, the agency said.
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