Parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma are under a level 3 threat for severe weather and even a few tornadoes Tuesday evening. Storms will stretch into 9 states across the southern plains.
FORT SMITH, Ark. – Nine states across the southern Plains are under the threat of severe thunderstorms, with parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma, in particular, threatened by storms capable of generating a few tornadoes Tuesday evening.
According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC), thunderstorms will form strong supercells Tuesday over northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas that have the potential to yield strong tornadoes (EF-2 or greater).
(FOX Weather)
The SPC has issued a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms for that area, which includes Fort Smith and Little Rock in Arkansas.
A broader region across the South, that includes North Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, is at risk of other modes of severe weather, such as large hail and damaging wind gusts lasting through the overnight hours Tuesday into Wednesday.
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This comes just as fall begins, which is typically associated with an uptick in severe weather for the central U.S. Storms on Sunday pelted the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with hail and partially collapsed the roof of a Walmart distribution center.
FALL IS THE SECOND SEVERE WEATHER SEASON
Tuesday’s threat is being caused by an area of low pressure moving underneath a dip in the jet stream in the lower levels of the atmosphere.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, thunderstorms will fire along a cold front covering eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas by Tuesday afternoon.
(FOX Weather)
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms for parts of North Texas, and broader areas of eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas.
A Level 1 out of 5 risk stretches from Dallas, Texas, on the southwestern edge of the threat and as far east as Nashville, Tennessee.
(FOX Weather)
Northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas face the greatest risk of tornadoes Tuesday, according to the SPC.
In addition, some 2.1 million people are at risk of seeing hail larger than 2 inches in diameter. The threat covers western Oklahoma, including Tulsa, and western Arkansas, including Fayetteville and Fort Smith.
(FOX Weather)
Thunderstorms are possible through the overnight hours and into Wednesday.
The repeated rounds of storms will also bring the potential for flash flooding. Some 3-5 inches of rain is possible from Oklahoma to East Tennessee through Thursday, with some localized pockets of 5-8 inches possible.
Flood Watches cover more than 5 million people living across portions of eastern Kansas through Oklahoma, southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas through Wednesday.
