Strong storms that could cause tornadoes in Texas and Louisiana, including the Houston area

Strong storms that could cause tornadoes in Texas and Louisiana, including the Houston area

Damaging storms that may give rise to some tornadoes are possible from the Texas coast into south-central Louisiana on Thursday afternoon, as a storm system takes shape over the southern Plains.

Up date:

• Happening now: Storms continue to develop across much of East Texas
• Main threats: Tornadoes and damaging wind gusts in Texas and southern Louisiana
• Area of ​​greatest concern: The Texas coast through south-central Louisiana, including Houston
• Time to area of ​​greatest concern: Until 5 pm in Texas; until 8 pm in Louisiana
• One more thing: The same storm system will also deliver much-needed rain to the nation’s most drought-stricken areas in the Mississippi Valley.

Confidence in an active tornado day dropped slightly late Thursday morning, as some atmospheric ingredients needed to produce dangerous storms had not yet come into place. A thick layer of clouds over much of South and East Texas cut off the heat fuel needed for the development of the feisty storm early Thursday.

Tornadoes are still possible from the Texas coast – including the Houston metropolitan area – through south-central Louisiana Thursday afternoon. A slight risk, or Level 2 of 5for severe storms is in place for the area on Thursday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

In addition to tornadoes, any severe storms on Thursday could produce hail, damaging wind gusts of up to 60 mph and heavy rain.

The severe storm threat will remain Thursday night in Louisiana as the storm system begins to generally track from the plains into the Mississippi Valley.

Rain will fall across an expansive portion of the Mississippi Valley, the Midwest and Southeast as the storm pushes north and east Thursday night into Friday.

This rain is desperately needed in the lower Mississippi Valley, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, which are battling some of the worst droughts in the US.

Louisiana is experiencing its worst drought on record, causing unprecedented forest fires. The exceptional drought – the highest level of the US Drought Monitor – covers 70% of the state, according to the data published on Thursday. The exceptional drought affects a third of Mississippi.

Between 5 and 10 centimeters of rain are expected to fall in the Mississippi Valley on Thursday, and another 5 to 10 centimeters on Friday in some areas of the Gulf Coast and the Southeast.

Additional severe storms are possible, but much less likely, on Friday from Louisiana to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. A marginal risk level for severe storms, or a level 1 of 5, is in place for the area on Friday.

November marks the start of a secondary severe weather season in the South. The clash between cold Canadian air moving into the region and warm, moist air lingering over the Gulf of Mexico typically causes an increase in damaging storms from November to December.

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Fuente: edition.cnn.com