Severe Thunderstorm Map Reveals Where Hail and Floods Forecast to Strike

Thunderstorms are forecast across the southeastern United States and Gulf Coast over the weekend, with National Weather Service (NWS) flood advisory notices in force for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The harsh conditions are the result of a quasi-stationary front that is making its way across the southeast, bringing powerful winds, along with heavy rain and hail for some areas.

Further north, NWS freeze warnings are in place for nearly all of Iowa, along with parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois, while a freeze watch covers eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the NWS said: “Marginally severe thunderstorms capable of strong wind gusts and hail will be possible Saturday across much of central Texas, and during the afternoon across parts of the Southeast U.S.

“Heavy rain from thunderstorms may bring isolated flash and urban flooding, along with new and renewed rises on rivers and streams throughout East Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley.”

An accompanying map showed rain and/or thunderstorms is expected across most of the southeast this weekend, extending as far north as Kansas and North Carolina.

In a longer update on its website, the NWS said: “A lingering quasi-stationary front draped across the Southeast, Gulf Coast States, and southern Plains will be the focus for numerous showers and thunderstorms this weekend. The greatest impacts associated with this system are expected to occur today as heavy rain could lead to scattered flash flooding issues from Texas to Mississippi.

“Multiple rounds of potentially intense rainfall developing over saturated terrain has prompted a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of Excessive Rainfall through tonight. This area includes much of central and eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and central Mississippi.”

Over the weekend, most of the country is expected to be colder than usual for the time of year, with freezing conditions forecast for parts of the Great Plains and some snow showers expected in New England.

The NWS says: “Temperatures are anticipated to remain below average for much of the country behind the cold front extending from the Southeast to the southern Plains. This leaves the West, Southwest, and Southeast as the warm spots this weekend with highs into the 70s and 80s.

“As temperatures moderate on Monday and return flow enters the central U.S., below normal temperatures are expected to erode as highs into the 70s surge into the central Plains, with cooler weather remaining across the Northeast.”

Lows in the 30s were also forecast for early mornings over the next few days “from the Midwest to the upper Ohio Valley,” with some frost expected for these areas.

Through Monday, light rain is a possibility across large parts of the U.S. while some snow is expected to “linger throughout parts of Colorado” on Saturday, likely leading to several inches of accumulated snowfall along the Front Range.

A frontal system is expected to hit the Pacific Northwest on Saturday evening, resulting in “showers throughout the region,” before “pushing rain chances into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Monday.”