Texas, Oklahoma: Damaging Wind, Hail, Tornados

A severe weather outbreak, including tornadoes, is possible next week across the South as a multi-faceted storm with heavy rain, strong winds and some wet snow targets the central and eastern U.S.

M​arch weather is notorious for expansive, sprawling low-pressure systems that can produce almost any type of weather from tornadoes to heavy snow. Such a storm is shaping up for the eastern two-thirds of the nation Tuesday and Wednesday. Let's break down the forecast, starting with a potential rash of severe weather.

S​evere Outbreak Possible

S​ome of the classic ingredients for a severe weather outbreak are showing up in computer models. A strong low-pressure system is forecast to form by Tuesday in the central U.S. That will draw increasingly warm and humid air north from the Gulf. A strong jet stream is also forecast to punch across that warm, humid air.

G​iven that, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted a part of the South from Texas to the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley for a threat of severe thunderstorms Tuesday and Tuesday night, shown in the map below. The threat is highest across portions of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

In their Sunday morning outlook, the SPC mentioned the potential for damaging straight-line winds and a few tornadoes Tuesday and Tuesday night.

(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

T​his severe weather threat may last into Wednesday ahead of the cold front in parts of the East, particularly from Delaware and Maryland to far northern Florida. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are possible in these areas Wednesday.

O​ther Storm Threats

H​eavy rain

I​n addition to the threat of severe thunderstorms, locally heavy rain is possible in parts of the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys.

T​his could lead to local flash flooding, particularly in areas recently soaked or flooded earlier in February in Kentucky and Tennessee. Fortunately, this does not appear to be nearly the slow-moving, heavy rain event that happened in mid-February, though some areas could still pick up at least 2 inches of rain in a short amount of time.

H​igh winds

T​his strong, sprawling low-pressure system could also produce strong wind gusts that aren't from thunderstorms that could lead to at least some scattered power outages and tree damage.

T​he best chance of those stronger gusts appears to be in the East Wednesday, but could also occur in the Plains and Midwest Tuesday night into Wednesday.

S​now

A​fter dumping fresh snow from California's Sierra into the Rockies, this system could produce some areas of wet snow from the Plains into parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest Monday night through Thursday.

Given the lack of sufficiently cold air, any areas of accumulating snow east of the Rockies could be patchy, though we can't rule out any locally heavy totals in a few areas of the Great Lakes.

(​MAPS: 7-Day US Forecast Rain/Snow Forecast)

Make sure your severe weather safety plan is ready, including having multiple ways of receiving National Weather Service watches and warnings and knowing where to seek safe shelter if a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning is issued.

C​heck back with us at weather.com for the latest on this potential severe weather outbreak.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.