Major winter storm threatens powerful tornadoes and flooding in the South and heavy snow and freezing rain across the Plains and Midwest - CNN

CNN  — 

A major multi-hazard storm barreling crossed the state is bringing the hazard of beardown tornadoes and flooding to the South, and crystal and snowfall to the Plains and Upper Midwest connected Tuesday.

The storm, which already brought deadly floods to California, was expected to propulsion moisture disconnected the Gulf of Mexico into the South, wherever supra mean temperatures person acceptable the signifier for terrible thunderstorms.

Over 2 cardinal radical were nether tornado watches crossed parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma arsenic of Monday night.

On apical of the hazard of tornadoes, the areas could spot hail and almighty scattered upwind gusts up to 70 mph.

There’s already been harm reported aft a imaginable tornado successful Jessieville, Arkansas, according to Garland County officials.

“Damage was sustained to areas of (a) schoolhouse owed to trees, and powerfulness lines. The schoolhouse was presently successful league astatine the time, nevertheless each students person been accounted for and reports of nary injury,” the Garland County Sheriff’s Office said successful a release.

In Jackson Parish, Louisiana, residents were told to enactment disconnected the roads arsenic the terrible upwind toppled trees and covered roadways with water. Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department said tarps volition beryllium fixed retired to those whose homes are damaged.

“We are trying to enactment to get to houses that are damaged and wide roads,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

As the hazard persists, forecasters person been acrophobic astir tornadoes forming astatine night, according to Brad Bryant of the National Weather Service bureau successful Shreveport, Louisiana.

“You can’t spot them coming. A batch of the time, radical are dormant and not paying attraction to the weather,” Bryant said. “Many areas astir present don’t person bully compartment telephone sum and tempest alerts are not arsenic effectual successful those areas, particularly erstwhile radical are asleep.”

Anyone successful areas astatine hazard of tornadoes should question harmless structure immediately, Bryant said.

“If you hold astir for a informing to beryllium issued, it is excessively late,” Bryant said Monday. “You request to person a harmless structure program successful spot successful beforehand of these storms.”

By 1 a.m., determination had been 21 tempest reports, including 1 tornado report, 16 upwind reports and 4 hail reports. The tornado that was reported was successful Jonesboro, Louisiana, wherever ample trees were knocked downed and damaged.

Damage reports were besides coming from crossed bluish Louisiana, including respective transmission highline towers being damaged successful the Haile assemblage successful Marion. One of the towers was knocked implicit and respective others are damaged, according to the National Weather Service successful Shreveport.

A upwind gust of 81 mph was reported successful Adair, Oklahoma – a gust equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

Heavy rainfall is besides accompanying the terrible storms, creating the menace of flash flooding crossed North Louisiana, Southeast Arkansas and Northwest Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 12 cardinal radical crossed the southbound were nether flood watches Tuesday morning, with the heaviest rainfall expected successful parts of southwest Alabama and southeast Georgia. Flood watches dispersed from the Texas-Louisiana borderline northbound on the Mississippi River Valley into confederate Indiana and Illinois.

Rainfall totals crossed the South done Wednesday are forecast to beryllium betwixt 2 to 4 inches and immoderate areas could spot up to 6 inches.

A radar-indicated flash flood informing was issued for parts of cardinal Arkansas, including overmuch of Little Rock, until 12:55 a.m. CST. Between 1 and 2 inches person fallen successful the area, and different 1 to 2 inches are possible.

“Turn around, don’t drown erstwhile encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths hap successful vehicles,” the upwind work warned.

In effect to the terrible upwind and flash flooding expected successful parts of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott activated authorities exigency effect resources Monday.

“As we show conditions and imaginable threats, I impulse Texans successful affected areas to heed the guidance of section officials and stay weather-aware arsenic terrible upwind systems develop,” Abbott said successful a statement. “We volition swiftly supply each indispensable resources to code terrible upwind and support our communities.”

Meanwhile, waterlogged Northern California communities could get deluged by adjacent much rainfall aboriginal this week.

As the South braces for floods and tornadoes, the tempest is expected to bring dense snow, sleet and freezing rainfall crossed the Plains and Upper Midwest connected Tuesday, importantly impacting travel.

Residents successful parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota are apt to spot aggravated snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour.

Over 15 cardinal radical are nether wintertime upwind alerts from Utah to Wisconsin.

Blowing and drifting snowfall connected Tuesday whitethorn effect successful snow-covered roads and marque it “hazardous, if not impossible” to travel, the upwind work warned.

Road conditions were already deteriorating Monday nighttime successful northwestern Iowa, bluish Nebraska and eastbound South Dakota, according to the upwind work successful Omaha.

Roughly 200 miles of eastbound Interstate 80 successful Wyoming, from Evanston to Rawlins, are closed owed to the ongoing impacts of the storm, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The section said westbound postulation is further blocked from the Rawlins conception of I-80 to the Interstate-25 junction successful Cheyenne, which covers much than 120 miles.

“Snow (and) blowing snowfall to interaction Wyoming roads into tonight,” an bureau Facebook station read. “A precocious upwind lawsuit volition past make blowing (and) drifting snow, mediocre visibility and imaginable whiteout conditions Tuesday day done Wednesday day for sections of I-80, I-25, South Pass and assorted secondary roads!”

“If you can, delight enactment home. If you indispensable travel, guarantee you person an exigency kit successful your car,” the upwind work successful Sioux Falls told residents, saying question volition go hard to intolerable by Tuesday morning.

A conveyance wintertime exigency kit includes snacks and water, a battery-powered upwind radio, flashlights and batteries, a archetypal assistance kit, a shovel and crystal scraper, a jumper cablegram and other items.

Significant crystal accumulations from freezing rainfall are expected, perchance implicit a 4th inch, from northeastern Nebraska done northwestern Iowa into confederate Minnesota.

The freezing rainfall volition besides marque conditions hard for those connected foot. Even a airy glaze tin marque for slippery sidewalks and driveways. Accumulations much than 0.25 inches tin origin scattered powerfulness outages and interruption histrion limbs, the upwind work says.