Severe Weather Expected Across Much of the U.S. on Saturday
Clusters of thunderstorms could kick up damaging winds in northern Mississippi and northern Alabama on Saturday.After a run of severe weather this week, another day of thunderstorm activity was on tap for the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and the Southern Plains on Saturday, and the severe weather was expected to persist through the weekend, forecasters said.On Saturday, the threat will be focused over the Southeast, with the highest risk over northern Mississippi and northern Alabama, where clusters of thunderstorms could kick up powerful, damaging winds.When these clusters of thunderstorms become organized, they can “create their own environment and they become more powerful than a typical thunderstorm,” said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.There will also be a low threat of tornadoes on Saturday, “but the main threat will be wind and that will be across the northern half of Alabama and Mississippi,” he said.On Sunday, the highest area of risk shifts into the southern Plains, especially the Texas Panhandle into western-north Texas and southwest Oklahoma, where thunderstorms could deliver strong winds and large hail, with a moderate risk for tornadoes. Lubbock and Amarillo in Texas and Lawton, Okla., all fall within areas with an enhanced risk of thunderstorm activity.“I would say the best bet for tornadoes on Sunday would be the Texas Panhandle,” Mr. Kleebauer said. More