A “significant tornado outbreak” is expected to hit parts of the south with dangerous winds and hail on Wednesday, the National Meteorological Service said.
Tornado alerts were in effect in Mississippi and Alabama on Wednesday afternoon, according to Bill Bunting, head of forecasting operations at the service’s Storm Prediction Center. There were already reports of damaged homes in Wayne County, Mississippi, and wind damage to structures and trees in Sumter County, Alabama, on Wednesday.
Some “dozens of storms” were occurring in the southeastern United States, Bunting said. “We expect them to become stronger and more intense as we move forward in the next few hours, until late at night,” he added.
He said he expected each storm to produce a tornado. The storms were set to bring winds of over 100 miles per hour, as well as hail ranging in size from golf to baseball.
The Meteorological Service published a “particularly dangerous situation” tornado observation in parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi on Wednesday until 7 pm, indicating “a potential for several strong and long-running tornadoes.”
More than 2.7 million people are at high risk from storms on Wednesday, mostly in Mississippi and Alabama, he said, with an additional 5.6 million people at moderate risk.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency on Tuesday before the storms to “ensure that we are ready to act in any way necessary. “
Jackson, Miss.; Birmingham, Ala .; and Tallulah, Louisiana, were among cities at risk of storm damage, the Meteorological Service said. A winter storm hit Jackson in February, leaving more than 70 percent of the city’s water consumers warned to boil water for weeks. The warning was lifted last week for well water customers and Wednesday for surface water customers. The storm surge this week could again threaten the city’s water systems.
“This event is just beginning,” said Bunting, adding, “It will be a long night.”
With storms hitting some areas well after dark, “you can’t see storms approaching very effectively,” said Bunting, advising people to prepare and take action when warnings are issued and “don’t wait until they can see the danger. ”He said that the Meteorological Service and local meteorologists had been alerting residents since the weekend about storms.
“For most areas, there will be more than one round of storms,” he said. “It is important not to let your guard down after a storm has passed.”
Storms are likely to cause “substantial” power outages, felled trees and floods, he said, adding that structural damage from “intense and long-haul tornadoes” is perhaps the biggest concern.
An “initial round” of tornadoes is expected to continue across Alabama on Wednesday afternoon, the Meteorological Service said, as a separate group was set to develop in northeastern Louisiana before spreading eastward, reaching Mississippi and Alabama – the second round of storms to hit the area – Wednesday night.
Parts of Georgia, central Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as southern Ohio and Virginia, may be affected by Thursday’s storms.
People in areas where tornado warnings are issued should take shelter on the lowest floor of their homes and cover themselves with a mattress or pillow, as well as a helmet, if any, to decrease the risk of injury, Bunting said.