The National Weather Service in Paducah is forecasting potential severe weather beginning tonight and continuing Thursday. There is a threat of tornadoes, large hail and flooding from this system moving east across the nation's midsection.
Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for tonight as a warm front moves south to north across the region.
On Thursday, numerous showers and thunderstorms are forecast with severe thunderstorm development possible from mid- to late-morning through early evening. Damaging wind is the primary hazard with severe thunderstorms; however, large hail and isolated tornadoes are possible. Additionally, the combination of well-saturated ground conditions and potentially heavy rain from any thunderstorm activity could result in localized flooding.
Tornado safety
Tornadoes are nature’s most
violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause
fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a
rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground
with whirling winds that can reach 300 mph. Damage paths can be in
excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk from
this hazard.
Some tornadoes are clearly
visible, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others. Occasionally,
tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible.
Before a tornado hits, the wind
may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the
location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally
occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see
clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.
The following are facts about
tornadoes:
- They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
- They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
- The average tornado moves southwest to northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction.
- The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 mph, but may vary from stationary to 70 mph.
- Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes as they move onto land.
- Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
- Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains during spring and summer months.
- Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May; in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer.
- Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., but can occur at any time.
