Extreme Weather Causes Potentially Deadly Flooding in Texas to Indiana

Early this week, a large area stretching from the southern Plains to the Midwest will risk flash floods and localized severe storms.

Although it alleviates drought in sections of South Central, flooding worries remain high, with downpours forecast to hit rain-stricken areas.

Heavy Storms

Heavy storms moved slowly through Little Rock, Arkansas, Paducah, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday night, after initially arriving in areas like Abilene, Texas, Oklahoma City, and St. Louis late Sunday.

On Sunday, DFW Airport experienced repeated ground stops as storms rolled through North Texas.

Today, almost 100 flights have been canceled at the airport.

"On Monday, heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue to develop along a cold front as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico collides with cooler, drier air to the north," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde said.

The front is expected to travel slowly through Monday afternoon, allowing for many rounds of rain in the same regions.

"While the formation of these storms would be adequate to create local flash floods," Rinde stated. "A weak region of low pressure will develop along the front and hold it in place, allowing for a thunderstorm training effect."

The front is predicted to move slowly on Monday, allowing for many rounds of rain in the same areas.

"A weak zone of low pressure will develop along the front and hold it in place, allowing for a thunderstorm training effect," Rinde said, "while generating these storms would be sufficient to generate local flash floods."

Flood Watch

The National Weather Service (NWS) has begun issuing flood watches for areas ranging from northeastern Texas to southern Missouri, including Wichita Falls, Texas, Springdale, Arkansas, and Springfield, Missouri, warning residents to keep an eye on forecasts and be ready to act if flash flood warnings are issued.

According to Rinde, some quantities will exceed 2 inches, and the most hit areas, from eastern Oklahoma to southern Missouri, have already seen some higher rain events this month.

Flood and Rain

So far in April, Little Rock and Paducah have seen three days with over an inch of rain in 24 hours, the most recent of which occurred last Wednesday in Little Rock.

Memphis has already surpassed its April rainfall average, with roughly 5.50 inches of precipitation compared to the normal of 5.87 inches.

On top of the heavy rain, extreme weather threatened Oklahoma on Saturday evening, with locals experiencing multiple close calls with tornadoes.

At around 8:26 p.m., a funnel or possibly tornado was observed on the ground just east of Oklahoma City in Harrah, Oklahoma.

A "small" and "pencil-like" tornado occurred on the ground south of Oklahoma City near Norman, according to a local meteorologist in the Oklahoma City region.

Oklahoma City responded by sounding tornado sirens to homes on Saturday evening, aiming to assure the safety of the city's 600,000 people.

The good news is that rain is needed in parts of Texas and Oklahoma to help alleviate drought conditions over most of the state, Rinde added.

According to the United States Drought Monitor, over 15% of Texas suffers severe drought, with over half of the state facing extreme drought.

Abilene, Texas, has only gotten roughly 49% of its average rainfall since early July 2021. The typical rainfall between July 1 and April 24 is 18.10 inches.

However, just 8.90 inches have been reported.

On the other hand, Houston generally receives almost 40 inches of rain during the same time period and has received approximately 90% of the average, or a little over 36 inches, since July 1.

Dallas has only received 56% of its average precipitation since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, since January 1, San Antonio, Texas, has only gotten 34% of its usual rainfall.

So far this year, Oklahoma City has received only 67% of typical rainfall, with 5.34 inches as of April 24. Guymon, in the Panhandle, has only received 0.76 inches of rain, which is 25% below typical for this time of year.

This storm may bring strong thunderstorms to the area and the risk of flash floods.

Extreme Weather

Extreme weather is expected to be confined and limited to southeastern Texas and the Ohio Valley through Monday night.

Thunderstorms might bring localized hail and strong gusts to this area.

These storms will have arrived in the Carolinas by Tuesday, giving much of the South Central a reprieve from the rain while high pressure rises.

Intense weather exploded throughout the Plains at the start of the weekend.

According to the National Weather Service, a strong thunderstorm produced baseball-sized hail to the southwest of Eva, Oklahoma, on Friday evening.

On Friday night, baseball-sized hail was observed near Leoti, Kansas. Heavy rain was an issue, with over 4 inches of rain falling in Maxwell, Iowa, on Friday afternoon.

Furthermore, the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls reported visual confirmation of a tornado 5 miles northwest of Wolsey, South Dakota.

Near Winona, Kansas, another tornado was recorded.

On Saturday, severe thunderstorms raced eastward across a 1,100-mile area stretching from eastern North Dakota and much of Minnesota to much of Oklahoma and north-central Texas.

Storms erupted, bringing with them destructive winds, hail, and tornadoes.

As the storm passed over Minnesota's northern region on Saturday evening, ping pong-sized hail was observed in Crookston.

In the southern region of Iowa, thunderstorm wind gusts of 70 miles per hour were observed in various locations. By early Sunday morning, ping pong to golf ball-sized hail was followed in Big Spring, Texas.

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