Major winter storm brought tornado reports across multiple Southern states and is threatening more severe weather

CNN
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A major winter storm that brought snow and freezing rain to its colder northern end and severe storms and tornadoes on its warmer southern end is threatening more severe weather as it treks east.

Over 25 million people are under some sort of severe weather threat in the South, with the risk of severe storms stretching from the Florida Panhandle into far southeast Alabama and parts of Georgia, and along the East Coast into southeastern Virginia.

As the showers and storms push into Georgia and northern Florida, damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes are possible.

Cities including Tallahassee, Albany, Charlotte, Virginia Beach, Atlanta, Raleigh and Norfolk could see winds and tornadoes. Heavy rain could also produce flash flooding in parts of Mississippi.

The multi-hazard storm – which headed into central and Southern US after battering California with deadly floods – has already triggered at least 120 storm reports over the past two days and left a trail of destruction as it barreled across the country, shifting to the South and Southeast.

There have been 11 tornado reports, 92 wind reports and 17 hail reports.

The tornado reports included six in Illinois on Tuesday and an EF-1 in Jessieville, Arkansas, on Monday. Other tornadoes reports came from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi.

A tornado watch is in effect for much of western and southern Alabama until 4 a.m.

The storm has also brought some heavy rain, with much of the South seeing 48-hour rainfall totals between 2-4 inches. Some areas across the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley received up to 6 inches, and isolated areas across eastern Arkansas received 10 inches.

In Tennessee, Memphis and Jackson both saw record-breaking rainfall Tuesday. Memphis received 3.84 inches, smashing its previous daily record of 2.13 inches set in 1949. Jackson got 2.48 inches on Tuesday, beating a previous daily record of 1.69 inches in 1951.

An extremely warm and moist air mass over the East Coast and Southeast helped fuel the severe weather outbreak. Over 35 daily high temperature records were broken across the Eastern US on Tuesday, with the thermometer hitting 81 degrees in Baton Rouge, 77 degrees in Wilmington and 69 degrees in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, over 5 million people are under winter weather alerts across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, where snow and ice accumulations are expected to affect travel, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy snow is expected across parts of the Upper Midwest through Wednesday, while freezing rain and a wintry mix spread into northern New England by Thursday, the Weather Service says.

The storm is expected to gradually begin dissipating Thursday. Meanwhile, another intense storm system is making its way to the West Coast.

Along with reports of tornadoes and powerful wind, came reports of damage.

One of the tornadoes that was reported was in Jonesboro, Louisiana, where large trees were knocked down and damaged.

Damage was also reported in Jessieville, Arkansas, where multiple buildings of a school sustained damage as trees and powerlines toppled, alogn with several homes in the area, according to the Garland County Sheriff’s Office.

“The school was currently in session at the time, however all students have been accounted for and reports of no injury,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

Images also showed toppled trees and home damage in other parts of Garland County.

Storm damage was also observed Tuesday in Marion, Alabama, where a home appeared to have been shifted off its foundation, CNN affiliate WBRC reported.

“The best thing is my husband and I are alive. Material things can be replaced but our lives cannot, and we just thank God that we are here,” homeowner Sylvia Hester told the station, standing alongside her husband next to their damaged home of two decades.

Damage reports were also coming from northern Louisiana, where several transmission highline towers were damaged in the Haile community in Marion. One of the towers was knocked over and several others are damaged, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport.

In Jackson Parish, Louisiana, residents were told to stay off the roads Monday as the severe weather toppled trees and powerlines, and covered roadways with water.

In addition to tornadoes, some communities saw hail and powerful winds.

There were reports of hail Monday in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. And then in Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois and Alabama the next day.

The storm currently situated over the central and eastern US is one of two major storm systems expected to impact the nation over the next few days. The second is forecast to enter the West Coast by Wednesday, sending a strong atmospheric river into California once again.

“A plethora of hazards are forecast, with heavy rain and strong winds expected to be the most widespread impact. Widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches are anticipated, with locally higher amounts throughout the coastal ranges and over northern California,” the National Weather Service says.

While those expected rainfall amounts wouldn’t normally have major impacts, the state recently received a lot of rain that left soils saturated and susceptible to flooding and landslides, the Weather Service said.

Northern California in particular was inundated with heavy snowfall and deadly flooding over the weekend, prompting evacuation orders and water rescues. It also raised questions over how much the precipitation would put a dent in California’s drought conditions.

The first snow survey of the season in the Sierra Nevada Mountains released Tuesday shows the current snowpack is well ahead of average for this time of year, according to a release from the California Department of Water Resources.

The Sierra snow pack makes up about 30% of California’s water needs on average, according to the department.

The snow depth measured Tuesday at Phillips Station, just south of Lake Tahoe, was 55.5 inches.

Statewide, the snow pack is 174% of average for this date, the agency said.

However, experts caution that despite the deluge – and expected precipitation over the next week – the drought isn’t over yet.

“The significant Sierra snowpack is good news but unfortunately these same storms are bringing flooding to parts of California,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a press release. “This is a prime example of the threat of extreme flooding during a prolonged drought as California experiences more swings between wet and dry periods brought on by our changing climate.”