Severe Outbreak Next Week May Affect a Quarter of US … wild weather ride a-comin … EYE Report

It's a storm set to unload more snow across areas from the Rockies into the Upper Midwest this weekend into early next week that will also spark the widespread severe weather to its south.

"This is a very serious weather situation we have coming up and we have been issuing pinpoint severe weather warnings the past several days," said Bradley J. Mitchell, Chief Commercial Officer of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, "Notifying our SkyGuard clients of how this severe weather could affect their most important assets is a top priority for us."

While a few thunderstorms affecting areas from Missouri into Iowa and parts of the lower Midwest Saturday night into Sunday could become severe (mainly due to hail), the main outbreak of severe weather will not get under way until Monday.

Threats with this outbreak Monday into Tuesday will include high winds, capable of downing trees and power lines and causing structural damage, large hail, and torrential rainfall, and even tornadoes with the strongest of thunderstorms.

April is a volatile month with fast-moving storms and plenty of wind. Because of all the storminess and large differences between air masses, there is always the potential for outbreaks of severe thunderstorms. The worst tornado swarm ever in the United States occurred in 1974 from the afternoon of April 3 through the early morning of April 4. In that outbreak over 140 tornadoes touched down.

Travel disruptions, by ground and air, are likely. Power outages will also be a problem for communities that are hit.

Areas from Texas and Oklahoma into Illinois and Indiana will be at risk by Monday as an extensive line of severe thunderstorms develops. The threat will then expand farther east across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, Southeast and mid-Atlantic Monday night into Tuesday.

Metropolitan areas that could be affected Monday include Chicago, Ill., Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind., St. Louis, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark., Shreveport, La., and Longview, Texas.

Areas that will have to be monitored for possible impacts Tuesday include Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and Augusta, Ga. The thunderstorms could end up being disruptive to Tuesday's practice round for the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta.

It is still uncertain how far south the severe weather will extend into Florida Tuesday. Areas such as Tampa and Orlando that were in the heart of severe weather last Wednesday into Thursday will be closely monitored for potential impacts.