Severe Storms Are Again Expected Across the Midwest and the South

Meteorologists said thunderstorms could produce damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes in the Midwest and the Mississippi Valley, a day after tornadoes injured nearly two dozen people in Texas.

A line of severe thunderstorms was expected to sweep across parts of the Midwest and the Mississippi Valley on Wednesday, raising the risk of tornadoes, flash floods and damaging winds, meteorologists said. The unsettling forecast comes a day after tornadoes ripped through Texas, injuring nearly two dozen people.

More than five million people were under a moderate risk for severe weather, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. The risk level, a four out of five, also included the cities of Little Rock, Ark.; Evansville, Ind.; and Memphis.

Several million more were under an enhanced and slight risk for storms, from Michigan and Wisconsin to as far south as Louisiana.

Meteorologists said the heaviest rainfall, capable of creating flash flooding, was likely from southeastern Louisiana to southern Michigan.

Around the Little Rock area, forecasters were expecting storms to begin around the afternoon and evening hours, producing hail the size of golf balls and winds up to 80 miles per hour. Periods of heavy rainfall were also expected to lead to local flooding, they said.

Meteorologists with the Weather Service in Memphis said they were expecting two rounds of storms on Wednesday, with heavy rain. Forecasters advised residents to start preparing early, as storms could spawn tornadoes with winds exceeding 150 m.p.h.

Similar forecasts were issued for Louisville, Ky., and parts of Mississippi, where dangerous winds were also expected.

Portions of the United States have been under a relentless severe weather pattern this spring. On Tuesday, a cluster of storms swept through Central Texas, spawning tornadoes that injured at least 23 people, 12 of whom were taken to local hospitals, David Blackburn, a judge in Bell County, said in a news conference on Tuesday. He said it was amazing that there were no reports of fatalities.

“Lots and lots of debris,” Judge Blackburn said, describing the scene. “The path of the tornado, which again extends several miles, there’s not much left. Large trees uprooted, overturned, stripped. Buildings really reduced to rubble at many locations. Power lines, power polls scattered all over the place. It’s a pretty devastating look.”

At least one other tornado tore through Central Iowa, destroying property.

Last week, severe weather ripped across the South, killing two people, one in Georgia and one in Texas. And in late March, a powerful storm killed at least two people and injured two others in the Florida Panhandle.

A recent survey by Gallup found that 33 percent of U.S. adults said they had been affected by extreme weather since 2020. Extreme cold, hurricanes and winter weather, such as snow, ice storms and blizzards, were among the most common extreme weather events cited, followed by extreme heat and floods.

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