A powerful storm system threatens to unleash a cascade of severe weather across the United States this week, from heavy rain and potential flooding in the West to tornadoes in the South and blizzard conditions across the Great Plains and Upper Midwest.
The latest threat follows a weekend of severe weather in Texas, where thunderstorms on Saturday caused havoc on Interstate 35.
Semitrailers were toppled on Interstate 35 and a recreational vehicle flipped at the Texas Motorplex drag racing strip, killing a man.
The impending storm is predicted to begin with an atmospheric river – a concentrated plume of moisture originating over the ocean – drenching Southern California with heavy rain on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
This atmospheric river is expected to deliver significant rainfall, raising concerns about potential flooding.
As the system pushes eastward, it is forecast to intensify over the Plains states.
The Weather Prediction Center is warning of a rapid intensification of the storm, bringing snow and strong winds to the Intermountain West and Rockies on Thursday and Friday.
This will then create conditions ripe for severe weather development across the central US, including the possibility of tornadoes in the South and heavy snow leading to blizzard conditions across parts of the Great Plains and Upper Midwest.
As the system moves east, a regional outbreak of severe thunderstorms is expected over large parts of several southern states beginning Friday and continuing into Saturday, according to the latest forecasts from the federal Storm Prediction Center.
That means a variety of severe weather hazards, from thunderstorms to so-called supercells that can spawn destructive tornadoes.
The worst weather could strike parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee on Friday, then move into Alabama by Saturday, though it was too early to say which areas could be hardest hit.
The threat of wildfires in parts of the Southwest is already high, with forecasts of critical wildfire conditions on Tuesday in the southeastern corner of Arizona and in southern New Mexico.
Parts of west Texas also are at risk.
Strong winds that will likely accompany the incoming storm system are likely to add more concerns about wildfires later in the week, especially in the southern Plains, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents south of Dallas clean up after earlier storms
In Texas, residents were cleaning up storm damage over the weekend.
Strong winds of up to 90 mph (145 kph) ripped the roof off a Days Inn along Interstate 45, and the high winds also damaged homes throughout Ellis County.
The 42-year-old man who died in the RV was identified as T.J. Bailey from Midlothian, Texas.
His wife and two sons were inside the RV when it rolled over at the racetrack, Ellis County Justice of the Peace Chris Macon told The Dallas Morning News. Bailey’s family members were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
