Severe Weather Outbreak: Massive Blizzard to Possibly Hit Continental US, Threatening Millions

A multi-day severe weather outbreak will hit the continental US again as a growing severe storm is looming this week.

However, it will be different this time as a historic blizzard will affect multiple parts of the country that has never been hit in the past three weeks.

Wider Storm Coverage

(Photo : Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)

The weather disturbance will affect locations from the Central Plains, upper Midwest, and Great Lakes.

This will affect a larger population than the previous severe weather outbreaks.

As a result, multiple cities will experience such severe storms, as per NBC News.

In addition, the latest storms will reportedly involve more complex weather factors due to storm placement, causing lower accuracy forecast compared with other weather phenomena.

However, rainfall, flooding, strong winds, snowfall, and twisters are the most common of these weather elements.

Also Read: Winter Storm: Blizzard Conditions Affects 100 Million People Across the US

Millions of Americans Affected

The storms have put 13 million people at risk from the Southern Plains to the Tennessee River Valley on Monday, April 11.

Tornado watches have been placed for central and western Arkansas by Monday evening.

The downpour of hails the size of tennis balls has been reported in Charleston, Arkansas with unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Sebastian and Logan counties.

Additionally, 39 million are at risk from the severe storms stretching for approximately 1,000 miles from southern Minnesota to the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, April 12, with large hail and isolated yet strong tornadoes being the greatest risks.

Furthermore, 62 million people are at risk from severe weather outbreaks, reaching the Rockies and northern Plains from Tuesday to Wednesday, April 13.

Cities at Risk

As per NBC News, the severe storms will affect the following cities:

Des Moines, Iowa
Kansas City, Missouri
Wichita, Kansas
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Little Rock, Arkansas
Dallas, Texas
Austin, Texas
Houston, Texas
Shreveport and Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nashville, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Birmingham, Alabama
Jackson, Tennessee
New Orleans, Louisiana

Other cities and towns are also susceptible to severe weather outbreaks, which may include heavy rain, heavy snowfall, and thunderstorms.

Winter Storm

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Weather Service (NWS) issued a major winter storm forecast to last until Thursday, April 14.

Under the forecast, unprecedented snowfall, freezing temperatures, and blizzard conditions are also possible in the continental US.

A potential blizzard storm may occur in some parts of the northern Plains and a snowstorm in the Intermountain West during the said period.

This winter weather may also lead to icy conditions and low visibility that may affect both land and air travel.

Under such circumstance, disruption of both domestic and international flights across the country are possible. This means that some flights may be canceled, delayed, or diverted to other airports.

Over recent months, winter storms across the US have resulted in thousands of disrupted flights, as per the flight monitoring site Flight Aware.

Although the country has already entered its spring season since March 20, multi-faceted severe weather events have transpired across the country, notably thunderstorms and tornadoes.