Tornadoes, hail the size of tennis balls: Welcome to spring across the USA
- Moderate to heavy rainfall and flash flooding were forecast from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast.
- By Tuesday, a heavy rain and thunderstorm pattern will sweep across eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
A pair of storm systems could fuel heavy rain and flooding across sections of the nation from the Desert Southwest to the East Coast this week, and some areas are bracing for the possibility of tornadoes or hail the size of tennis balls, forecasters said.
“A slow-moving storm over the Central United States this week will act as the catalyst for a risk of severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
The National Weather Service, citing a "blocky pattern," said moderate to heavy rainfall and flash flooding were possible from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast as well as over the Northern Rockies, Great Basin and Southwest. A congested atmospheric pattern known as an omega block could be to blame. The pattern produces a jet stream, shaped like the Greek letter omega − Ω − and can bring havoc to weather conditions.
Some of the areas facing storms are already sodden from days of rain, adding to the risk, Buckingham said. The storms could tap into moisture out of the Gulf, prompting a risk for flooding and severe thunderstorms from Texas to the central Gulf Coast, he said.
Developments:
∎ New York City could get more than 2 inches of rain through Tuesday and flash flooding is possible, the National Weather Service warned.
∎ Houston could see thunderstorms and wind gusts of up to 30 mph. "A few storms could become strong to severe, mainly west of I-45," the weather service said in a post on X.
∎ New Orleans faces a "significant" threat of flash flooding Tuesday because of several rounds of heavy rainfall expected to slam the area.
Pennsylvania recovering from deadly storms
Residents in Western Pennsylvania were bracing for a line of powerful storms forecast to move through the region later Monday. Over 20,000 homes and businesses in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, remained without power from brutal storms last week that left three people dead and more than 400,000 power customers in the dark.
"The main threats will be damaging winds and large hail," the weather service office in Pittsburgh posted on X. "With the heavy rainfall over the past few days, flooding is also a possibility."
Hail, tornadoes possible in Texas
Portions of West Texas and far eastern New Mexico could see large hailstones and possibly isolated tornadoes late Monday, AccuWeather warned. Travelers along interstates 10 and 20 in Texas could face travel delays as storms ignite across the region.
By Tuesday, a heavy rain and thunderstorm pattern will sweep across eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Intense winds, hail, isolated tornadoes and flash flooding are possible Tuesday and Tuesday night, AccuWeather said.
A tale of two weather patterns in Texas
West Texas needs the rain. The city of Midland has only recorded 0.66 of an inch of rain so far this year, according to AccuWeather. Normally the city has seen four times that amount by now. AccuWeather notes that any rain hitting West Texas will be beneficial but may run off the hard-baked soil.
Meanwhile some areas of East Texas, including the Houston area, are bloated from heavy rainfall along the Mississippi Valley in recent weeks that has inundated some low-lying areas.