Deadly storm races towards Great Lakes: Snow on backside, rain and storms for East
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Version 0 of 1. A powerful storm that spawned deadly tornadoes in Mississippi Tuesday is winding up and sweeping north on this Christmas Eve. The storm could ignite a second round of dangerous thunderstorms in the Southeast today, with soaking rains up the East Coast. On the northwest side of the storm, a narrow swath of wet snow is likely Severe storms The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center highlights the area from roughly Charleston, South Carolina to Tallahassee, Florida as having a slight risk of severe thunderstorms today. A more marginal risk of severe storms extends as far north as southeast Virginia and as far south as Orlando. There’s also a small area in the Ohio Valley where a few strong to severe storms could fire. Damaging winds will be the primary hazard in any severe storms, although a few isolated tornadoes could form in the slight risk zone. A tornado watch is currently in effect over a large chunk of the slight risk zone until 2 p.m., and spans Charleston to Panama City. A large complex of vigorous storms is tracking through that area. Link: Southeast Radar Rain The storm’s most widespread impact will be heavy rain – with totals exceeding one inch from north Florida to eastern Maine. Much of the rain falls today, Christmas Eve, but it will take until midday on Christmas Day for the rain to exit northern New England. Snow While the storm doesn’t have a ton of cold air to work with, a narrow swath of heavy snow is likely to develop on its northwest flank this afternoon and tonight. Winter weather advisories extend from northeast Illinois into northern Michigan where some wet, accumulating snow could fall. Chicago is under a winter weather advisory and could get an inch or so of sloppy snow this evening, but temperatures will barely support accumulation so it shouldn’t significantly impact travel. Enough snow may or may not remain on the ground for an official (at least 1″) White Christmas in the Windy City Thursday morning. Areas most likely to see substantial snow span from around Grand Rapids up to Michigan’s northern border. Gusty winds In the storm’s wake, very gusty winds will develop – first in the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes today and tonight. Wind advisories cover most of this region, with sustained winds forecast to reach 15-30 mph, and gusts 30-50 mph. Isolated power outages could occur from these winds. The gusty winds arrive in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Christmas day. These winds will probably mostly be in the neighborhood of 15 to 25 mph, with some 30-40 mph gusts. These aren’t strong enough to cause widespread outages or damage, but will certainly be blustery. Tuesday’s severe weather As the storm spun up Tuesday in the Deep South, severe storms erupted in southern Mississippi. Several tornadoes touched down, and 4 people died. Via Doyle Rice at USA Today: The worst damage appears to be from a twister that roared through southern Mississppi, from Columbia to Sumrall. Columbia Fire Department Capt. Tommy Graves said one fatality occurred at Wilks Trailer Park, while a second Columbia fatality was confirmed by Marion County Emergency Management Agency Director Aaron Greer. 50 people were injured during the storm. The worst damage appears to be from a twister that roared through southern Mississppi, from Columbia to Sumrall. Columbia Fire Department Capt. Tommy Graves said one fatality occurred at Wilks Trailer Park, while a second Columbia fatality was confirmed by Marion County Emergency Management Agency Director Aaron Greer. 50 people were injured during the storm. In all, the NWS Storm Prediction Center logged 37 damaging wind and 14 tornado reports in the South Tuesday.
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