Severe thunderstorms threaten stretch of US from Texas to upstate New York
From Texas through upstate New York, a large stretch of the country was at risk for scattered severe thunderstorms on April 29, forecasters said.
More than 4 million people were under a severe thunderstorm watch in Oklahoma and parts of Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. There, hail as large as 2 inches is also expected. Northwest Texas is especially at risk for damaging 75-mph winds and storm clusters, but bands of storms featuring strong winds will impact states from Ohio into western New York, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Meanwhile, a near-stationary cold front is expected to dump heavy rain on already soaked areas in northern Texas, most of Oklahoma and the mid-Mississippi Valley. Another 2 to 4 inches could fall through the end of April.
"Numerous instances of flash flooding are possible by later today, some of which could potentially be significant," the weather service said.
The risk comes a day after back-to-back days of severe thunderstorms peaked on April 28, with large hail, reports of at least two tornadoes and damaging winds, according to AccuWeather.
Where are flood warnings in place?
About 6.5 million people were also under flood watches in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri on April 29. In southwest Oklahoma, locally "catastrophic flooding" was possible, the National Weather Service said.
The rain expected through the middle of the week will fall on areas that have already had two to three times their historical averages of rainfall for April, according to AccuWeather. Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, has seen 7.24 inches of rain in April; its historical average is 4.37 inches.
On April 26, flash flooding forced emergency water rescues in Duncan, Oklahoma, while dangerous flooding was reported in the cities of Norman and Moore. The weather service in Norman said again on April 29 that damaging winds and flash flooding is expected.
The areas surrounding the banks of the Mississippi River also continue to be under flood warnings and advisories. The river is now surging from runoff brought by historic rainfall in early April, AccuWeather reported.