JACKSON, Mississippi, USA. –
Severe storms were expected in at least 15 states in the central and southern United States on Friday, and forecasters were urging people to prepare for dangerous storms that could include tornadoes. They warned of conditions similar to those a week ago, which caused a devastating tornado that killed at least 21 people in Mississippi.
More than 85 million people are under a weather advisory Friday morning after the National Weather Service’s National Weather Service forecast unusual hailstorms, possibly even hail, damaging gale-force winds and powerful tornadoes that could travel great distances over land.
The highest risk area for storms is a large stretch of the Mississippi River, from the state of Wisconsin to Mississippi, with two high risk plans focused on Memphis, Tennessee and the Iowa-Illinois border area.
Major population centers facing high risk from storms beginning Friday afternoon include Chicago, St. Louis, Sax and Jonesboro in Arkansas, as well as Des Moines and Cedar Rapids in Iowa. Residents of eastern Iowa, western and northern Illinois and Arkansas should also prepare, Victo Gensini said. the professor of meteors and the most expert of the northern IL Pollux.
There will be a lot of thunder, tornadoes, devastating winds, heavy hail, he added.
Residents in these areas should stock up on emergency supplies, prepare for power outages, avoid being stranded in areas exposed to falling trees or hail, and park their vehicles in carports where possible, they said.
Vates warned of a “severe threat of relatively unusual and significant severe weather” in and around Chicago, which could include high winds, tornadoes and large hail.
