A dangerous storm is sweeping the nation with severe weather risk
An outbreak of severe weather this weekend and into early next week could impact millions of Americans, with the potential for thunderstorms, large hail, destructive winds and tornadoes, forecasters said Saturday.
More than 180 million people could see severe weather through midweek, with more than two dozen states at risk, according to AccuWeather. The threat will start Saturday night, with hail, damaging winds, flash flooding and tornadoes that could impact cities including Dallas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Topeka and Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri; and Des Moines, Iowa.
Then on Sunday, the weather will shift further east and into the middle Mississippi Valley and portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, AccuWeather said.
"On Sunday, we are probably looking at a dozen or two tornadoes," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
And to the north, ice, snow and sleet is expected in states from the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes region to New England where winter weather advisories blanketed Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and parts of New York, according to the National Weather Service. Light to moderate snow and freezing rain is expected in the New England states.
"These amounts of ice are likely lead to tree damage and power outages," the weather service said.
Saturday into Sunday, between 2 and 4 inches of snow is expected, with some higher amounts locally up to 8 inches, in northern Nebraska, southern South Dakota, central Minnesota, far northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.
More than 4 million people were under red flag warnings on Saturday across most of New Mexico and parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Gusty winds, higher-than-usual temperatures and low moisture levels put the area at "critical risk" for wildfires on Saturday and Sunday, the weather service said.
Avoid open flames and sparks, don't park vehicles on dry grass and discard of cigarettes carefully, the weather service in Albuquerque warned Saturday, adding that winds will be at their strongest Saturday and again on Tuesday.
An outbreak of wildfires in the Carolinas has forced evacuations and destroyed homes over the last 10 days. Firefighters in North Carolina were still battling blazes and fires continue to pop up. Though weather conditions are expected to improve Saturday, the risk for new fires continues.
The largest fire in the region is the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County, South Carolina, which doubled in size Friday and crossed the state line into Transylvania County in North Carolina. In North Carolina, large wildfires are burning in Polk County, the Deep Woods and Black Cove fires; Swain County, the Alarka Fire; and Haywood County, the Rattlesnake Branch Fire, that has forced the closure of Shining Rock Wilderness in Pisgah National Forest.
Carolina fire updates: Western NC wildfires blaze on Saturday, March 29
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; The Asheville Citizen Times
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe weather risk in forecast for millions as storm sweeps US
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
25 minutes ago
- UPI
Here's why a hurricane has never crossed the equator
1 of 3 | The Atlantic stirs up in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Vero Beach, Fla., in October 2024. The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, and that is responsible for hurricanes or tropical storms never crossing the equator. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo Did you know that a hurricane or tropical storm has never crossed the equator? The reason behind this fascinating phenomenon lies in a meteorological principle related to the rotation of the Earth: the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. "This force is what gives tropical systems their iconic swirl -- counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere," AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva explained. At the equator, however, the Coriolis force is essentially zero, making it impossible for a tropical system to cross over from one hemisphere to another. Typhoon Vamei in 2001 was the closest storm to the equator Most tropical systems remain north of 5 degrees north latitude or south of 5 degrees south latitude. The closest a tropical storm or hurricane has ever come to crossing the equator was Typhoon Vamei in December 2001 in the western Pacific, which got within 100 miles of the equator, forming at only 1.4 degrees North latitude. An unnamed tropical depression in 1973 formed farther south The closest a tropical depression has ever formed to the equator was an unnamed storm in December 1973. This storm formed at 0.5 latitude. It later became a tropical storm around 0.7 latitude, according to the China Meteorological Administration. The official record by the U.S. National Hurricane Center disagrees, saying it did not have tropical-storm-force winds until later in its path, north of 10 degrees north latitude. This is likely due to the different ways that the two agencies measure winds in a tropical system. Another fact you may notice on the world tropical cyclone map is that there have been no tropical storms in the southeastern Pacific west of South America and few subtropical or tropical storms off the east coast of the continent. Why are there so few tropical storms in the South Atlantic? Only one hurricane has ever formed off the coast of South America: an unnamed storm locally called Catarina in 2004. According to the NHC, only two additional unnamed tropical storms have ever roamed the southern Atlantic basin, in 2010 and 2011. The other storms shown on the map above are subtropical storms, a designation for a cyclone with high winds that is not 100 tropical in nature. Average sea-surface temperatures above the threshold for tropical storm development (26 C) between 1982 and 1995. The Peru Current brings cold water up the west coast of South America while the Brazil current brings warm water southward off South America's east coast. Adapted from (AccuWeather/NOAA WPC) The lack of activity off the west coast of South America is primarily because of colder waters, DaSilva says. The Peru Current brings cold water northward along the coast. Another factor is higher wind shear, which tears apart most tropical storms before they can strengthen. "The waters off Brazil are not as cold, because the offshore currents are from the north, but the wind shear is still too strong to support many tropical storms," DaSilva explained.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Sorry, you can't use your Costco membership card to get through TSA
"Can't fly on hotdogs and hope." That's according to the Transportation Security Administration, which recently posted on social media to let Americans know they cannot, in fact, use their Costco membership cards in place of a Real ID. "We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but plz stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not," TSA said in an X post on June 4. In a follow-up post on Instagram, the agency said a Costco Gold Star Membership card might get you a 48-pack of toilet paper and other goodies the warehouse retailer is known for, but "it won't get you through a TSA checkpoint." "We get it, you're a bulk-buying boss, the executive of excess, the sultan of samples. But unless your $1.50 hot dog has a passport, you're gonna need a REAL ID or other acceptable form of ID to fly," the post said. The posts from TSA, which is known to have a tongue-in-cheek social media presence, came after Real ID requirements were set to take effect in May. Americans were scrambling ahead of the May 7 deadline to secure a Real ID, which the Department of Homeland Security had previously said would be required to fly domestically from that date. However, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Americans would still be able to fly without a Real ID for the time being. TSA's website currently says that travelers without a Real ID — or an alternative form of acceptable identification, like a passport — will be notified of their noncompliance and could be subject to additional screening at the airport. list.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Elbows-up tourism surge could see sector ‘eke out' a gain even as Americans stay away
From the front desk of Hotel Bedford in Goderich, Ont., Lynda Cross welcomes guests from regions ranging from southern Ontario to the South Pacific. 'A lot of them come from Toronto,' said the manager, standing just inside the Romanesque arches of the 129-year-old establishment. 'Just lately, we've had a few groups come from Australia' — a first, she said. But one crop of tourists has been conspicuously absent this year: Americans. 'May and June have been slow.' A groundswell of economic patriotism has stoked curiosity in Canadian destinations, fuelling a domestic bookings surge as travellers turn away from cross-border trips. But a drop in American visitors north of the border and fears that many Canadians will simply stay home to save money has many wondering whether homegrown and overseas tourism can make up for the stateside decline. Canadian vacationers' boycotting the U.S. could net this country's tourism sector up to $8.8 billion in extra business this year as travellers explore spots closer to home, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada. An April survey on travel intentions prompted the group to predict a windfall despite fewer border crossings this year by American tourists — Canada's largest source of inbound travellers by far. The number of Americans who visited Canada by car fell nearly 11 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, the third straight month of year-over-year decreases, according to Statistics Canada. While trip numbers for Canadians heading to the U.S. have fallen off far more steeply as part of a backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and '51st state' threats, Americans' more moderate pullback owes to factors ranging from pinched pocketbooks to fears of feeling unwelcome to angst over the border crossing on the drive home. The American retreat could hit communities that hug the border especially hard. 'Border towns that have tended to experience the shorter, more frequent back-and-forth visits — those are going to be communities that are going to be more heavily affected,' said Andrew Siegwart, who heads the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Duty-free stores have seen their revenue drop by 60 to 80 per cent in the last few months, according to an association representing 32 of the mostly mom-and-pop shops. Whether overseas travellers can make up for much of the lower American traffic across the country is questionable. Visitor volume from China, previously a key source of tourists, sat at 40 per cent of 2019 levels last year amid ongoing restrictions on group travel to Canada, according to Destination Canada. The federal government imposed new visa requirements on Mexican visitors last year, making it harder for tourists from that country to come. 'Travel from India has also been down for a number of reasons. So it's going to take some time,' said Siegwart. However, many America-averse Canadians are spending their travel budget in their own backyards. More than half of respondents to a survey released Monday by Ontario's travel regulator said they were more likely to make excursions closer to home, with the trend holding across all age groups. 'It could be a year where we manage to stay on par with last year, or maybe even eke out a little bit of a gain,' said Siegwart. But he acknowledged the hurdle of consumer anxiety over the economy. 'I'm cautiously optimistic,' he said, 'but it's too early to tell.' Summer bookings were either the same or higher than last year at two out of three businesses surveyed by the association in a poll released last month. John Steele, who owns seven hotels in Newfoundland and Labrador and one in Fredericton, said visitor levels look 'pretty good' at most of his properties but softer in Gander. New direct flights to St. John's from London and Paris have made it easier for international travellers to come from away. 'Air access seems to be improving for us. That's a big thing for us,' Steele said. At Okanagan Wine Country Tours in British Columbia, bookings from Europe and the United Kingdom have risen about 20 per cent year-over-year, said partner and manager Marsha Morrish. 'The traffic from Quebec is up substantially,' she added. Americans are more tepid — even those who do head north. 'They did email me to do a bit of a temperature check on how Canadians were feeling about Americans visiting,' Morrish said, referring to a Colorado couple coming up to sample Pinot Gris. While there's a chance American tourist numbers could surge, it's unlikely to happen this year, Siegwart suggested — including for corporate gatherings. 'Some convention centres, both in Ontario and across the country, have seen some drops in American conference bookings.' Much of it has to do with personal safety and security, as some workers worry about how they'll be treated at the border. 'Depending on your immigration status, depending on if you're a member of an LGBTQIA community, if your gender markers or identities on your passports are different than your gender expression — all sorts of things like that are really coming into play,' Siegwart said. 'My colleagues south of the border are a little more cautious in how they plan things because of the unpredictable way in which their administration is conducting business.' On the flip side, there's more interest from corporate event planners in Europe 'who still want to come to North America but see Canada as a safer bet.' Some Americans remain undeterred though. 'I've seen way more people from the States this year,' said Wendy Mooney, owner of Country Hideaway RV Campground, which sits barely a kilometre from the border in the B.C.'s West Kootenay region. 'Some people just fly by the seat of their pants.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
