Millions of people in the central United States are bracing for powerful storms on Monday, including long-track tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and baseball-sized hail, forecasters said.
Much of Oklahoma and parts of Kansas are at highest risk for severe weather, including areas of Oklahoma such as Sulfur and Holdenville that are still recovering from a tornado that killed four people and left thousands without power late last month . Both the Plains and the Midwest have been hit by tornadoes this spring.
In total, nearly 10 million people live in areas threatened by severe weather, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said. Forecasters there issued an unusually high risk for central Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
With the forecast, Oklahoma City Public Schools and several metro area school districts began canceling all after-school and evening activities. The Oklahoma State Emergency Operations Center, which coordinates storm response from a bunker near the state Capitol, remains activated following last weekend’s deadly storms, and the state’s public safety commissioner told agencies to allow most state workers across the state to leave early on Monday.
Bill Bunting, deputy director of the Storm Prediction Center, said a high risk coming from the center is not something you see every day or every spring. “It is the highest threat level we can assign. And it is a day that must be taken very, very seriously,” he stated.
The last time a high risk was issued was March 31, 2023, when a massive storm system swept through parts of the South and Midwest, including Arkansas, Illinois and rural Indiana.
Monday’s risk across parts of the Southern Plains is the worst in five years, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.
“If you look at a meteorology textbook on how to cause a significant tornado outbreak in the southern plains, all the ingredients you need are here today,” Porter said.
Other cities that could see storms include Kansas City, Missouri, and Lincoln, Nebraska.
The number of storms and their intensity should increase rapidly in the afternoon hours across western parts of Oklahoma and into south-central Kansas, Bunting said.
According to Porter, the expected thunderstorms could produce winds of up to 80 mph and potentially higher. Worse yet, these “supercell” storms can produce destructive tornadoes.
“The types of tornadoes that this storm can produce are particularly intense and can be long-lasting,” Porter said. “These are the tornadoes that can sometimes last 45 minutes or an hour, even longer, creating paths of destruction as they move.”
The high risk is due to an unusual confluence: Wind gusts up to about 75 mph, created by the same system that has increased the risk of severe weather in the Plains, have been battering Colorado’s populated Front Range region, including the Denver area. on Monday.
The winds are being created by a low pressure system north of Colorado that is also pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, which is fueling the risk of severe weather in the Plains, said Greg Heavener, warning coordination meteorologist in Denver for the US National Weather Service zone office.
Moisture is not being carried into Colorado, although there is no risk of tornadoes or thunderstorms, he said.
Severe weather conditions were possible in southern Kansas after 4 pm Monday. Hazardous weather will move east, potentially creating risks overnight in places like Kansas City and Springfield in Missouri into early Tuesday, Porter said.
“This is not going to be an atmospheric setup where the sun will set and the storms will fade and there will be no additional risks,” said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University. “The risk of tornadoes tonight will continue into the afternoon and overnight, making it very challenging.”
Bunting advises people in affected areas to develop a severe weather plan.
“Make sure you have ways to communicate with your family members,” he said. “Make sure everyone knows where their shelters are” and how they can continue to receive warnings.
The entire week seems stormy across the United States. The eastern United States and the South are expected to be hardest hit by severe weather for the rest of the week, including in Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati, where more than 21 million people live. It should become clear over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the first rains on Monday hit southwest Texas, especially the Houston area, leaving neighborhoods flooded and prompting hundreds of flood rescues.
Associated Press writers Sean Murphy and Colleen Slevin contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Slevin reported from Denver, Colorado.