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

CNN  — 

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

The storm, which triggered deadly floods successful California implicit the weekend, has tracked eastbound and is pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the South, wherever above-normal temperatures person acceptable the signifier for terrible thunderstorms.

More than 35 cardinal radical are nether immoderate benignant of terrible upwind menace successful the South, with the highest hazard adjacent the Gulf Coast. Southeast Louisiana and confederate Mississippi and Alabama were nether a level 3 retired of 5 “enhanced” hazard of terrible weather. Places similar Baton Rouge, Montgomery and Gulfport could each spot beardown storms. A level 2 retired of 5 “slight” hazard of terrible upwind covered Nashville, New Orleans and Atlanta.

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Strong tornadoes, ample hail and upwind gusts topping 70 mph are imaginable successful the astir utmost thunderstorms.

“Severe convection with each 3 modes (tornadoes, hail and damaging winds) is likely,” the National Weather Service bureau successful Mobile warned.

Heavy rainfall associated with these thunderstorms could besides trigger important flash flooding crossed the South. Southeastern Alabama and Southwest Georgia are nether a level 3 retired of 4 “moderate” hazard of excessive rainfall. Portions of Southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia are besides nether a level 2 retired of 4 “slight” hazard of excessive rainfall.

Rainfall totals could scope 2 to 4 inches crossed the South done Wednesday, portion immoderate areas could spot up to 6 inches.

The strategy produced unsafe thunderstorms overnight. By 6 a.m., 30 tempest reports had been submitted to the National Weather Service, including 2 tornado reports, 22 precocious upwind reports and six ample hail reports. One of the tornadoes that was reported was successful Jonesboro, Louisiana, wherever ample trees were knocked downed and damaged. The different was reported successful Haywood, Tennessee.

Damage was besides 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.”

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.

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

Over 15 cardinal radical are nether wintertime upwind alerts from Colorado to Michigan.

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

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. Portions of bluish Nebraska person already reported astir a ft of snowfall and could get an further 12 to 18 inches connected Tuesday, according to the upwind service.

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 poses a important hazard to 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.