A dangerous outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is forecast to threaten the South and Southeast Wednesday and Thursday, officials said.
Portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are under “high” and “moderate” risk warnings as large hail and damaging winds are expected to move from the southern Plains to the Southeast, according to the National Weather Service‘s Storm Prediction Center. High-risk severe weather warnings are rare.
“The last time this happened in March was nine years ago,” NBC’s “TODAY” show co-host Al Roker said.
Impacted areas are at risk of strong, long-track tornadoes, which remain on the ground for an extended period of time.
The onslaught of storms is expected to continue into the afternoon and overnight hours, the Weather Service said.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared an emergency on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the severe weather forecast.
“The threat for potentially dangerous weather is rising for much of Alabama tomorrow,” Ivey said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, I have issued a state of emergency for all 67 counties to ensure we are ready to act in any way needed from the state level. Projections are showing that this will likely be a widespread event, with some of the most severe weather anticipated late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.”
The severe storm outbreak is expected to travel from southern Virginia into portions of the South on Thursday, including the states of Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the Weather Service. Widespread damaging wind gusts are expected to continue and several tornadoes are possible.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
