Heavy rain and damaging thunderstorms are in store over Easter weekend for a stretch of the country from Texas through the Northeast, forecasters said.
The weather system has already walloped parts of Iowa and Nebraska with 4-inch, softball-sized hail and destructive 70-mph winds on April 17, days ahead of the holiday weekend. The National Weather Service in Omaha, Nebraska, said an EF-3 tornado caused damage when it tore through north Douglas and southeast Washington counties with estimated peak winds of 140 mph.
On April 19, forecasters said severe thunderstorms were a threat to parts of the middle and lower Mississippi Valley and the Southern Plains, and the risk could grow into Easter Sunday on April 20. The thunderstorms there could produce severe wind, hail and a few tornadoes, the weather service said.
At least a dozen states could be impacted by the severe weather, which could also cause flash flooding in areas that were already hit hard in early April by tornadoes and record rainfall, AccuWeather said. Texas is expected to take the brunt of high winds, large hail and possible tornadoes, but storms and smaller hail and wind gusts will stretch all the way through New York City and New England into Saturday evening.
Map shows US forecast through Easter morning
Easter storm threat
On April 20, thunderstorms are expected to stretch from east Texas to the mid-Mississippi Valley, the Storm Prediction Center said. Damaging winds and potential for tornadoes on the holiday will include parts of Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois.
Excessive rainfall is also expected with flash flooding from overflowing streams in the region, the weather service said.
“For Easter Sunday through Sunday night, the threat of severe weather will reach its peak from Arkansas through the Missouri Valley,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Easter weekend forecast includes thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes
The post Will it rain on Easter? Large storm brings weekend severe weather risk. appeared first on USA TODAY.
