More than 17 million people from eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley are facing severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes this week.
‘A low pressure system will move across the south-Central US today then track towards the East and Northeast on Friday,’ the National Weather Service (NWS) stated.
The agency issued flood warnings and watches in parts of 10 states as a slow-moving, cross-country storm blows across the Eastern US, delivering strong wind gusts, lighting and torrential rain.
Those states include Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in Texas faced a grueling commute Thursday morning after roughly four inches of rain fell overnight and flooded roadways, according to the Weather Channel.
At least 4.45 inches of rain has fallen in Grand Prairie, 4.32 inches at the Mesquite Airport and 3.91 inches has poured down on the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
More than 4.7 million people across parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are facing a severe thunderstorm risk, including residents of Houston, Pasadena, Beaumont and The Woodlands in Texas as well as Monroe, Alexandria and Lafayette in Louisiana.
The most likely time for these strong storms to occur will be from 3pm to 8pm CT.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the tornado risk is isolated to eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southeastern Arkansas.
Residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in Texas faced a grueling commute Thursday morning after roughly four inches of rain fell overnight and flooded roadways
That risk ranges from two to five percent, with the five percent risk covering most of northern Louisiana, FOX Weather reported.
But it is more likely that severe thunderstorms will bring damaging wind gusts and hail to affected areas.
Meteorologists predict the storm will strengthen as it tracks eastward toward Louisiana and the northern Gulf Coast today, with warm daytime temperatures adding more atmospheric energy into the storm system.
The storm will continue spreading heavy rain from the Gulf Coast toward the Northeast through Friday, with up to three inches expected in some areas.
Flash flood risks will persist through the end of the workweek as well.
By Friday evening, moisture from the storm system should spread into the Northeast, where it will interact with a cold front and produce wintery weather across the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast, according to the NWS.
Some light snow is expected to accumulate across New England, and the NWS has issued winter weather advisories in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
The storm should exits off the East Coast Saturday morning, the agency said.
The storm will track eastward across the US from Thursday through Friday, eventually bringing wintery weather to Northeaster states before moving offshore
Flood watches and warnings have been issued in 10 states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
This storm and associated flood risks stem from the same storm that blanketed parts of the Southwest and the Rockies in snow.
Up to a foot of snow fell in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, and southeastern Colorado faced dangerous road conditions that led to at least one fatality as a result of a head-on crash.
Colorado state police responded to multiple reports of vehicles stuck on Interstate 70, forcing them to shut down the road to assist drivers and treat the pavement.
That storm also brought a much-needed inch of rain to fire-scorched Southern California earlier this week, according to FOX Weather.
That rain helped ease fires still burning in Los Angeles, but it also triggered mudslides and debris flows in burn scar areas that forced officials to close roads and schools.
One notable slide hit Topanga Canyon near the Palisades Fire burn area, and another occurred near the Eaton burn scar northwest of Altadena.
Portions of the Angeles Crest Highway were closed overnight Sunday.
