Millions on East Coast under severe thunderstorm watch as powerful storms target US
Wednesday is shaping up to be an active day for severe weather in three parts of the US with powerful thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts, large hail and possible tornadoes targeting areas from the Plains to the East Coast.
Tornado Warnings and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued early Tuesday morning across portions of Florida, and the FOX Forecast Center expects those thunderstorms to persist throughout the day.
A Tornado Watch had been in effect for portions of central and northern Florida earlier on Wednesday morning but was replaced by a Severe Thunderstorm Watch just before 11 a.m. ET.
The Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for nearly 10.5 million people until 5 p.m. ET and includes cities such as Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Melbourne, Tampa, Sarasota and Port St. Lucie.
Another Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued farther north Wednesday afternoon and includes about 6.6 million people in parts of South Carolina and North Carolina.
The watch includes the cities of Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Florence in South Carolina and Charlotte, Fayetteville and Wilmington in North Carolina.
It is in effect until 8 p.m. ET.
East Coast severe weather threat
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted two areas of concern on the East Coast for powerful thunderstorms to develop Wednesday.
In Florida, severe thunderstorms will be possible across the peninsula from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Jacksonville area southward to the West Palm Beach area.
The SPC has placed areas of Central Florida in a Level 2 out of 5 risk on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
This includes cities like Daytona Beach, Orlando, Melbourne, Tampa and the Fort Myers area.
The SPC has also highlighted portions of the Carolinas where there’s a higher risk of severe weather. Northern South Carolina and most of central and eastern North Carolina are in a Level 2 out of 5 risk.
This includes Columbia in South Carolina and Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington in North Carolina.
Those areas in Florida and the Carolinas will be at risk of seeing powerful thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts and hail.
There is also a tornado threat, but the threat of twisters is higher across Central Florida.
Parts of the Plains in the central US will also be at risk of powerful thunderstorms Wednesday.
The thunderstorm risk stretches from Texas to Nebraska.
However, portions of northwestern Texas, western and northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas have been placed in a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe weather on Wednesday.
This includes about 1 million people in cities like Amarillo in Texas, as well as Enid, Stillwater, Ponca City and Yukon in Oklahoma.
Communities along Interstate 35 in Kansas south of Wichita are also included.
Storms that develop in those areas will not only be capable of producing deadly, cloud-to-ground lightning, but large hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes will also be possible.
