Powerhouse storm to unleash severe weather

AccuWeather

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter breaks down the incoming threats.

Transcript

00:00 John, it's time to talk severe weather.

00:01 And you know, I wouldn't really

00:03 expect to say that about the northern

00:05 tier of the country this time of year.

00:07 And yet, like I said,

00:08 Mother Nature does not care

00:10 about our calendar.

00:10 No, no, no, that's for sure.

00:12 And with that spring like warmth around,

00:14 that's what's going to be one of the

00:16 main drivers of why we're going to have

00:18 a severe weather risk so far to the North.

00:21 Here's the storm progressing from the

00:22 western part of the United States to the

00:24 east and we're going to be dealing with

00:26 multiple days of severe weather threat

00:28 here from the central part of the US.

00:30 To the East Coast, you know,

00:32 John, something you and I were talking

00:33 about behind the scenes so important.

00:35 It's all about timing and as we head

00:37 into tomorrow timings not really on our

00:38 side, not just because of the afternoon

00:40 threat, but because the thunderstorms

00:42 look like they're going to linger until

00:43 after the sun goes down and people

00:45 are generally going to bed.

00:46 Well, that's right.

00:48 I think that's our biggest

00:49 concern with this setup,

00:50 which is that the severe weather

00:52 risk can ramp up after dark.

00:54 And of course most people are sleeping

00:57 at night tornadoes that happen at night.

00:59 Are two times more likely to be fatal

01:01 than tornadoes that occurred during the day,

01:04 so that's why it's such a concern.

01:06 And it's going to take awhile.

01:07 It looks like perhaps for this setup

01:09 to really start to amplify

01:11 through the afternoon tomorrow.

01:12 Take a look at things around 4 o'clock.

01:14 Some scattered severe

01:15 thunderstorms near Chicago,

01:16 and then a few across portions of

01:18 Ohio with a lifting warm front.

01:20 But we actually have to wait till

01:22 after 4 o'clock for some of the

01:24 stronger lift in the atmosphere.

01:26 The air to be drawn to upwards

01:28 in the atmosphere,

01:29 producing clouds and precipitation

01:30 in these thunderstorms.

01:31 That's when this can really

01:32 ramp up here into tomorrow night,

01:34 and there's individual cells there.

01:35 You saw across parts of Ohio and all

01:37 back in Indiana and southeastern Illinois.

01:39 That's what we're concerned about

01:41 for a tornado threat before the

01:42 whole thing gels together into

01:44 a line in a tomorrow night.

01:45 Well, I like the way you

01:47 put that gels together.

01:48 That's what it's going to feel like.

01:50 You look at the radar and all of a sudden

01:52 here comes that squall line that line of

01:54 rain and you know John, let's break down.

01:57 Tuesday and then we'll go into Wednesday

01:58 as well because they're kind of

02:00 different days of severe weather,

02:01 despite the fact that they're

02:03 coming from the same parent storm.

02:04 That's right,

02:05 the setup is more likely to favor a

02:07 tornado risk a isolated tornado risk

02:09 as we head through later afternoon,

02:11 Tuesday and into Tuesday night.

02:12 And look how far north this is.

02:14 This is really a springtime setup

02:16 as opposed to a February setup,

02:17 so we want you to make sure you let

02:20 your friends and family know about the risk,

02:22 especially in these areas here.

02:24 With some and moderate risk from

02:25 portions of Southern Michigan all

02:27 the way back towards Chicago to

02:28 Saint Louis and into the Ohio

02:30 Valley into tomorrow night.

02:31 And this will be a threat as we

02:33 mentioned into the overnight hours.

02:35 Now, as we had to Wednesday,

02:36 you know, kind of same,

02:38 same but different, different.

02:39 You know, we take the same storm and

02:41 draw out what we call a squall line.

02:43 Basically just a line of thunderstorms,

02:45 but it's also for areas that don't

02:46 typically see severe weather this

02:48 time of year. That's right.

02:49 And look at the area covered here

02:51 from parts of central New York all

02:53 the way back down toward Memphis here.

02:54 And the issues here likely to be

02:56 mostly damaging wind with a quick

02:58 burst of heavy rain and wind along

03:00 the front as it traverses rapidly

03:02 to the East. You know, John,

03:03 you just mentioned something that I

03:05 think our viewers really need to think

03:07 about not only their own safety.

03:09 Obviously important,

03:09 but all of our loved ones, right?

03:11 Shoot your friends and family a text,

03:13 send him a DM, give him a call,

03:15 whatever you gotta do.

03:16 But there are so many ways to

03:18 get watches and warnings.

03:19 That's right,

03:19 and sometimes just letting people

03:21 know that there's a severe weather

03:22 risk is really helpful in this situation.

03:24 Of course,

03:25 download the free Accuweather app.

03:26 Turn on push notifications.

03:27 We send those severe weather

03:29 warnings that are issued from

03:30 government from the National Weather

03:32 Service on average quicker than any

03:33 other source the Accuweather network.

03:35 And of course,

03:36 Accuweather.com and don't underestimate

03:37 the power of your own voice.

03:39 Yes, to help your friends and family.

03:41 Be aware we all live busy lives,

03:43 so an extra reminder,

03:44 especially in these out of season.

03:46 Severe weather events can really

03:47 sometimes help save somebody's life.

03:49 You could be that for somebody else.

03:51 Oh, that's such an important message.

03:53 How powerful John?

03:53 I really appreciate that.

03:55 And one more thing before I let you go here.

03:57 Look for the folks who maybe are in

03:59 that northern tier of the country

04:01 where severe weather certainly happens.

04:02 But this time of year it's kind of

04:04 like we need that refresher course.

04:06 Some of the areas where they should go.

04:08 If heaven forbid a tornado

04:10 warning does spark around them,

04:11 right?

04:11 And you want to be able to move there

04:13 quickly, especially with an overnight

04:15 threat and the main answer here is you

04:17 want to be in the lowest part of your home.

04:19 So if you have a rear room,

04:21 a basement if you have it,

04:23 that's extremely helpful and know

04:24 how to get there very quickly.

04:26 Practice with your kids.

04:27 Make it fun.

04:27 Bring their stuffed animals down

04:29 there in terms of figuring out how

04:30 you could do that very quickly,

04:32 because sometimes you only have minutes

04:33 to react, especially with rapidly

04:35 moving storms like we're going

04:36 to be dealing with so important.

04:38 Scared, not prepared.

04:38 That is our nope, nope.

04:40 Prepared, not scared.

04:40 That's that's the Monday coming back to me here.

04:43 The karma of the Monday John.

04:45 Thanks for joining us at your other

04:46 chief meteorologist John Porter.

04:47 Always a pleasure to have you on.

04:49 So thankful for your expertise this morning.

04:51 - Well, good to be with you this morning.

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