Severe Storm Risk Shifts to East Coast
Thunderstorms and potentially tornadoes are expected from Central Florida to western Pennsylvania on Sunday, forecasters said.The deadly bombardment of severe storms that spawned tornadoes and dust storms across the Midwest and South is expected to sweep across the East Coast on Sunday. The system, which has killed at least 36 people, is expected to unleash storms that could generate tornadoes across the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast.The turbulent weather that has caused widespread destruction is part of a huge cross-country system that dropped hail — some as large as baseballs — and produced tornadoes Friday and Saturday that killed at least 23 people.The system also caused wildfires driven by hurricane-force winds, and dust storms that led to crashes that killed at least 13 people in Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.On Sunday, the threat of tornadoes and thunderstorms is expected to be over in the South and will shift east, though at a level much lower than it was on Saturday.Forecasters said there would be a slight risk of severe storms and tornadoes from Central Florida to western Pennsylvania. However, a higher enhanced risk was in place for western and central Pennsylvania.“I’m not expecting the coverage to be as significant and the storms to be as numerous in terms of the overall severity,” said Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. “But there’s still going to be a risk for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds.”Mr. Otto said that Mississippi and Alabama, which experienced the highest possible level of tornado risk on Saturday, “should have a relatively tranquil day on Sunday.”Tornadoes across the South and MidwestLocations of tornado sightings or damage reported since Friday morning. More