(CNN) — A powerful storm system that will affect much of the US this weekend could pose a triple threat, with the potential for severe storms and tornadoes, ice, snow, and flooding.
Millions of people in the eastern half of the United States – in the Southeast, the Midwest, the Great Lakes region and the Northeast – could feel the effects, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said. Another storm system will bring heavy snowfall to the west.
In the eastern United States:
A potent multi-hazard storm is expected to affect a large portion of the U.S. this Friday through the weekend. The hazards include severe weather (top left), heavy rain/flooding (lower left), snow (top right) and ice (lower right). Here’s a look at Friday, January 10th. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/ZeUKQwXJQr
– National Weather Service (@NWS) January 9, 2020
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- More than 40 million people are under flood surveillance in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Vermont.
- More than 25 million people are under winter weather alert in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
- And more than 20 million people are under a wind warning in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Thus the regions could be affected:
Tornadoes and damaging winds in the south
Severe weather is forecast, possibly including tornadoes, damaging winds and hail in much of the south on Friday and Saturday, Hennen said.
The risk of damaging gusts of winds became even more apparent on Thursday, prompting the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center emit a moderate risk of severe weather, at level 4 of 5, for parts of northwestern Louisiana and a section of eastern Texas.
Residents of the Gulf Coast in northern Missouri could be affected by severe weather on Friday afternoon and during the night hours. The biggest threat encompasses cities in eastern Texas, such as Dallas and Houston, as well as Shreveport, Louisiana, Hennen said.
“Storms will increase in the dark, with tornadoes after dark,” Hennen said. “Tornadoes at night are more than twice as deadly as those that occur during the day, and people don’t get the warnings on time.”
On Saturday, the danger will change to cover much of the Southeast, including cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana; Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama; and Atlanta
Residents in these regions must “make sure that weather notifications from their smartphones are turned on. Some of these storms will travel at 90 km / h, and they may only have minutes to react, ”said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
Snow and ice in the Midwest
Cooler areas to the north could feel the effects of a significant snow and ice storm, which the National Weather Service in Chicago called a “high-powered storm system.”
Some parts of Illinois, southern Wisconsin and Michigan could see heavy snowfall as the storm moves east, with 15 centimeters of snow possible in some areas, Hennen said. Upstate New York and New England could also see snow.
A dangerous ice storm will form over the Great Lakes region, and widespread power outages are possible.
“We certainly have a complicated disaster on our hands,” said the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
A Texas Flood Threat to Michigan
More than 30 million people were under some form of flood watch Thursday from Texas to Michigan, including cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana and Chicago.
There is likely to be widespread rainfall between 3 and 15 centimeters, Hennen said, anywhere from the southeast to the Ohio Valley and in the Great Lakes region.
Heavy snow in the Northwest
A different storm will bring heavy snowfall to the highest elevations in the northwest, Hennen said.
Winter storm warnings were posted for the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains to the north, and the weather service forecasts snowfalls of up to 60 centimeters. The threat there includes an avalanche hazard, and warnings were issued for certain parts of Idaho and Montana.
– CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford contributed to this report.
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