Weather Channel Sends 'Rare' Warning Before 'Volatile' Threat
On April 2 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe weather outlook that is typically only issued two to three times per yer.
The Weather Channel issued a warning for parts of the Midwest and South where a tornado outbreak is expected through Wednesday night. The looming weather threat called for a "rare" warning from the Weather Channel.
"High-risk severe forecasts (level 5 out of 5) are only issued two to three times a year by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center for particularly volatile setups like today. In this case, it was issued for the possibility of multiple long-lived EF3 or stronger tornadoes in the mid-South, mid-Mississippi and lower Ohio valleys," the Weather Channel said.
The tornado outbreak is expected from parts of the lower Mississippi Valley into the Mid-South and lower Ohio Valley with multiple tornado watches in effect from eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas into Missouri and Illinois.
On the morning of April 2 radar spotted a tornado that produced roof and tree damage just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, near Owasso. Another tornado was spotted near Nevada, Missouri causing similar damage.
The widespread weather threat promises to deliver "tornadoes, destructive straight-line winds and hail the size of golf balls or larger could strike anywhere from northern Texas to the Great Lakes today and tonight," the Weather Channel said.
The greatest concern is the "threat of long-lived tornadoes that could produce EF3 or stronger damage is from the mid-South to portions of the mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys."
Following the looming tornado threat is the potential for "serious" flooding as the cold front stalls into the weekend.
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