Memorial Day weekend storms could pummel Plains, South with tennis ball-sized hail, hurricane force wind gusts
OKLAHOMA CITY - Outdoor plans from the Plains to the Southeast and mid-Atlantic could be in jeopardy through the rest of Memorial Day weekend as a slow-moving storm system threatens millions with rounds of torrential rain and severe weather.
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Sunday's threat comes after parts of the same regions were slammed with severe thunderstorms and flooding on Saturday, with damage to buildings reported in Oklahoma, water rescues in Missouri and storms tearing across communities in Florida.
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Storms have already been rolling across parts of the Central Plains early Sunday morning, and numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings have been issued in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
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Over 54 million people from the Plains to the Southeast will be at risk of seeing severe weather on Sunday.
However, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed nearly 2.5 million people in a Level 3 out of 5 risk on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
This threat zone includes cities such as Oklahoma City, Norman and Lawton in Oklahoma, and Lubbock and Wichita Falls in Texas.
Over 14 million people have been placed in a Level 2 out of 5 threat, including cities like Memphis in Tennessee, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas and Birmingham in Alabama.
The SPC said some supercell thunderstorms could develop on Sunday, and those storms could produce very large hail, hurricane-force wind gusts and even some tornadoes.
Flooding is also a concern, and there have already been numerous Flash Flood Warnings issued across three states.
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) highlighted portions of Oklahoma and Arkansas where the threat is higher, and placed those areas in a Level 3 out of 4 risk. A Level 2 out of 4 threat stretches across portions of nine other states from the Plains to the Southeast.
Elsewhere across the U.S., the weather is looking like it will cooperate in regard to outdoor plans to usher in the unofficial start to summer.
The FOX Forecast Center expects abundant sunshine across the Northeast, Great Lakes and West on Sunday.
On Memorial Day, the threat of severe weather will return across the central and southern Plains. Meanwhile, the northern Plains, Great Lakes and Northeast will be chilly, but sunny.
The heat will crank up in the West, with forecast high temperatures in the 80s, 90s, and maybe even some 100s in the desert Southwest.Original article source: Memorial Day weekend storms could pummel Plains, South with tennis ball-sized hail, hurricane force wind gusts
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