The Midwest and the Plains will once again be the focus of weather on Tuesday, with the regions facing historic river flooding and more than 20 million people facing possible severe weather.
It’ll be another week of being under severe weather watch for people in the southern Plains, coming off a streak of storms that caused deadly tornadoes at the end of last week. Conditions in the regions will continue through the week.
“A one-two punch of severe weather is in store across the southern Plains both Tuesday and Wednesday,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.
Here’s what to know about the national weather forecast for Tuesday:
Risk of thunderstorms, tornadoes in Texas
The National Weather Service said severe thunderstorms will be possible over parts of central and northern Texas, which has the possibility to bring hail and “perhaps a couple of tornadoes.”
“Any thunderstorms that can form across this region would probably become severe and pose a threat for large to very large hail and damaging winds,” the NWS said. “However, uncertainty remains rather high regarding the number of severe thunderstorms that may form owing to nebulous/modest large-scale ascent. The risk for a couple of tornadoes may also increase with this activity late Tuesday.”
More than 10 million people are under the slight risk for severe weather – the second of five risk categories for the NWS – in Texas, including the cities of:
- Dallas
- Austin
- Fort Worth
- Arlington
- Plano
Nearly 20 million people are under marginal risk for severe weather in Texas in Oklahoma, including the cities of:
- Houston
- San Antonio
- Oklahoma City
Flooding warnings around Mississippi River ‘until further notice’
River flooding is ongoing this week across the Midwest, which could be some of the region’s worst river flooding in over 20 years, forecasters say.
The NWS has issued flood warnings in several states along the Mississippi River, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, “until further notice.” Motorists in affected areas are advised to not drive around barricades or through flooded areas.
The flood warnings come “due to a combination of snowmelt run-off and recent rainfall,” the NWS said.
Red flag warnings in Southwest as temperatures rise
Red flag warnings will be in effect once again in the Southwest, stretching from eastern Arizona through west Texas. Tuesday is expected to be a high fire danger for the affected areas, with wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour mixed with low humidity resulting in “critical fire weather conditions.”
Temperatures will also be in the high 80s to low 90s in the area.
“These dry conditions, combined with low relative humidities and gusty winds will keep the fire weather threat at an elevated to critical level over the next few days across large portions of New Mexico, far southeastern Arizona and southwest Texas,” the NWS said.
National weather radar
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