New Orleans Could Suffer from Hail, Tornadoes, Damaging Winds, and Flash Flooding by Wednesday Night

A severe weather alert was issued by US meteorologists for New Orleans, where hail, tornadoes, damaging winds, and flash flooding could occur on two rounds from Tuesday to Wednesday night, December 13 to December 14.

During this period, damage to infrastructure and disruption of local travel is expected in the state for the next 48 hours.

The storm alert is part of a wider severe thunderstorm system that was also responsible for causing tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas, injuring a total of at least seven people, according to reports.

In addition, it also comes as blizzard conditions continue to mount in the northern Plains, as well as a massive winter storm affecting the US, disrupting domestic and international flights.

The US is entering its winter season since December kicked in. During this period, different satellite offices of the National Weather Service (NWS) across the country issued weather alerts, including warnings or watches, for heavy snow, blizzard conditions, freezing temperatures, and tornadoes.

These weather hazards are brought by year-end winter storms and severe storms.

New Orleans Severe Weather Alert

The first round of the severe weather outbreak will be from Tuesday evening but is not as significant as the one arriving on Wednesday, according to the New Orleans television station WDSU News.

The initial outbreak will involve the development of isolated thunderstorms ahead of a main cluster of storms above East Texas and Northern Louisiana.

If a severe storm does occur, there is a possibility of heavy rain, powerful winds with over 58 miles per hour, giant hail, and isolated tornadoes.

By Wednesday, additional isolated thunderstorms may occur during the morning and afternoon hours.

Enhanced Fujita 2 (EF2) tornadoes or stronger with hail and strong wind gusts are also possible.

Giant Winter Storm System

According to CNN, the giant winter storm system is pushing forward the Central US after battering the American West.

With the latest developments, around 21 million people from Texas to Mississippi are under threat of severe storms, including tornadoes, as of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, around 14 million people mostly in the north-central US are under winter weather warning or advisories.

The ongoing December storms also caused more than 10,000 flights to be either delayed or canceled since Monday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, as cited by CBS News.

In the Northeast, Nature World News also covered this disruption earlier this week, including the delayed flights at Boston Logan International Airport and JFK International Airport.

Various reports said that stranded passengers had to wait for several hours for their next flight to take proceed, causing a chain of reaction between several airports nationwide.

The US winter storm is likely to be followed by similar weather events this December, where the winter season is typically projected to last until February.

In 2021, the winter season saw the occurrence of disruptive winter and ice storms which affected not only the US but also northern Mexico and Canada.