A huge storm system crossing the U.S. threatens to unleash tornadoes Friday in the Mississippi Valley, blizzards in the northern Plains and dry, gusty conditions in Texas and Oklahoma that pose a high risk of wildfires.
The National Weather Service predicted extreme weather across a vast swath of the U.S. with a population exceeding 100 million people. Powerful winds gusting up to 80 mph (130 kph) were forecast from the Canadian border to Texas.
The storm system is expected to bring rain to California’s central coast on Friday, a day after the National Weather Service confirmed that a high-end EF-0 tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph (137 kph) touched down in Pico Rivera in East Los Angeles early Thursday as a large strong storm system moved through, causing flooding across the Greater Los Angeles area.
Forecasters say the severe storm threat will continue into the weekend, with a moderate chance of tornadoes and damaging winds pushing farther south Saturday to areas including New Orleans and Birmingham, Alabama. Heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some parts of the East Coast on Sunday.
Experts say it's not unusual to see such weather extremes in March, when emerging spring warmth and lingering winter cold create big temperature differences for storms to thrive.
“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” said Benjamin Reppert, a meteorologist at Penn State University.
Tornadoes likely amid storm outbreak
A regional outbreak of severe storms was expected Friday afternoon with some risk of thunderstorms extending from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn tornadoes and hail up to baseball-size were likely. But the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with some gusts possibly reaching 100 mph (160 kph).
Forecasters said areas most at risk were in eastern Missouri, much of Illinois and portions of Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. About 47 million people faced an enhanced to moderate severe storm threat from Madison, Wisconsin, to Birmingham, Alabama.
The tornado threat pushes farther south on Saturday into the Gulf Coast states, with areas at greatest risk including New Orleans and other parts of eastern Louisiana and much of Mississippi and Alabama.
Blizzards expected in Northern Plains
Forecasters warned that heavy snow whipped by powerful winds are likely to make travel treacherous in parts of the Rockies and Northern Plains. Blizzard conditions were possible in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
Winter storm warnings issued Thursday lingered into Friday morning in mountainous regions of Arizona and Utah, where more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snowfall was possible. Forecasters warned of poor visibility and icy road conditions, urging motorists to travel with extra food and water in case they became stranded.
The winter blast continued after snowfall of up to 3 feet (90 centimeters) blanketed the Sierra Nevada earlier in the week.
Dry, gusty conditions bring 'extreme' threat of wildfires
Warm, dry weather and sustained winds of up to 45 mph (72 kph) brought what the weather service called “near historic” conditions for sparking wildfires Friday to the Southern Plains and parts of the Southwest. Wind gusts exceeding 80 mph (128 kph) were possible.
Forecasters also warned about an extreme risk of fires in parts of northern Texas, much of Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. A broader area where the fire threat was designated as critical stretched from eastern New Mexico into Texas and north to a portion of southern Iowa.
The weather service said a potential for dry thunderstorms in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas carry the added risk of fires being started by lightning with minimal rainfall to impede them.
More than half of Texas' 245 counties had burn bans in place because of the dangerous fire conditions. The weather service in Lubbock posted a video Friday morning on X of wind whipping thick dust across the road as one of its employees drove to work.
“This is likely to be the worst dust storm so far this year,” said Randall Hergert, a lead forecaster with the weather service in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Forecasters warned that brownout conditions were possible from airborne dust. They urged those stuck on the roads to keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and watch for fallen trees, power lines and other debris.
The Associated Press
