AccuWeather forecasters say another tornado outbreak could develop across the South during the final days of March and impact some cities and towns from Texas to Louisiana that are still cleaning up following this week’s deadly tornado outbreak.
More than 50 tornadoes were confirmed across the South this week as a result of widespread and destructive storms that tore through the region over multiple days. The storms left at least two dead and caused catastrophic damage in parts of Texas and around New Orleans, which was hit by an EF3 tornado Tuesday night.
This weekend’s weather will be quiet across the South, with plenty of sunshine and low humidity allowing families, friends, and clean-up crews to pick up the pieces and brace for another round of potentially dangerous and damaging storms. Warmer air will gradually build over the weekend and into Monday with high temperatures in Dallas settling in the middle 80s. Farther east, highs in the mid-to-upper 70s on Saturday should give way to lower 80s by Sunday in New Orleans.
On Tuesday, a potent storm will race from California to Kansas before slowing its forward speed and pivoting northeastward across the Central states on Wednesday. This system will first bring beneficial precipitation to California later Sunday into Monday.
As the storm pushes east of the Rockies, it will pull moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and into the zone of warmth over the South-Central states. At the same time, high above the ground, winds will increase. These three ingredients are likely to lead to a significant outbreak of severe weather that includes tornadoes from late Tuesday to Wednesday evening. Most of the daylight hours on Tuesday should still be quiet, but that will change as the day transitions to night.
“Severe storms could occur Tuesday night with the biggest threats being hail and some high winds,” said AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Timothy Richards. Storms Tuesday night should generally remain to the west of Interstate 35, with locations such as Abilene and San Angelo, Texas, at risk for the storms. However, storms could approach the metro areas of Dallas and Oklahoma City as well toward daybreak.
