US Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms, Strong Winds, Flooding, Fire

Severe weather forecast for much of the U.S.

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Low pressure system over Chicago with cold front to Dallas moving east

• Risk of severe weather in conjunction with thunderstorms
• “A second storm moving onshore over the Pacific Northwest will move to the Upper Mississippi Valley by Tuesday evening. High elevation snow and low elevation rain will move into parts of the northern High Plains, northern and central Rockies on Tuesday.”

A large area of the Southeast and Midwest at risk of severe weather

• Primary target: Parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
• Secondary target:  All or parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.

“Parts of the risk area and the central Plains area have also been alerted to driving problems from high winds that will dominate the Plains and the Southeast.

“Forecasters said winds would range from 15-25 mph with gusts to 35-40 mph to areas of 30-35 mph winds gusting to around 50 mph, to sustained winds of 45-55 mph with gusts to 75 mph in western Wyoming. High winds will cause difficulties in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.”

Wildfires:

“Officials hope to avoid a repeat of the wildfire outbreak experienced Sunday in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Kansas. Wildfire details included:

• Colorado – Baca County fire near Walsh burned only 30 acres but burned into Walsh and forced evacuation of 120 homes, contained Sunday evening; Crystal Wildland Fire in Larimer County burned approximately 4,500 acres and is 5 percent contained
• New Mexico – White Fire near Ruidoso burned 2,000-3,000 acres and destroyed at least 4 homes
• Kansas – Grassland wildfire in Grant Haskell and Stevens counties burned approximately 9,000 acres, 3 homes destroyed, 100 percent contained in Grant County, 70 percent in Stevens County and 80 percent in Haskell County
• Oklahoma – Guymon Fire burned 7,500 acres and destroyed 12 homes
• Texas – Fire near Midland burned 500 acres and threatened houses and oil field equipment; Justiceberg fire in Garza County burned 2,000 acres, threatens more than 20 homes; Bates field fire in Ector County burned 2,500 acres but no structures lost, evacuees being allowed to return; smaller fires included Willow View fire in Hardeman County, South Road fire in Yoakum County and Rancho Real fire in Real County.” [Drought Information Update: Drought worsens with limited precipitation in March]

Flooding

NOAA’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service showed 111 gauge sites at some level of flooding.

• 13 sites were at Major Flood levels,
• 23 sites at Moderate Flood
• 75 sites at Minor Flood

Additionally

• 109 sites were at Near Flood

Major flooding is occurring on Devils Lake, Stump Lake, The James River, the Wild Rice River, the Minnesota River, the Cottonwood River and the Mississippi River. Details available at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/index.php?stage=7

Related Links

• US Severe Weather Forecast: T-Storms, Tornadoes [April 4, 2011]
• Red Flag Warnings in Seven States
• Deadly EF2 Tornado Strikes Louisiana Town
• Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley
• U-S Attacked by Continued Severe Weather
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• US Wildfire Pattern Consistent with Drought
• National Fire Stats Falsified?
• Denver wildfire forces evacuation of 10,000 homes
• Fierce Storm Dumps 160mm of Rain over SoCal
• Wildfires Wreaking Havoc Across the U.S.
• World on Fire