Big March storm fans #wildfires and flips trucks as forecasters fear weekend #tornado outbreak

By RUSS BYNUM and SEAN MURPHY
Updated 9:02 PM EDT, March 14, 2025

"Tornadoes likely amid storm outbreak

"The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs Friday, but the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph) possible.

"A #TornadoWatch was issued until 11 p.m. for central and eastern #Missouri, including St. Louis, as well as parts of #Illinois and #Arkansas.

"The National Weather Service said it observed an evening tornado in the south-central Missouri city of #Grovespring.

"Other areas at risk included parts of #Iowa, #Kentucky, #Tennessee and #Mississippi.

"About 47 million people faced an enhanced to moderate severe storm threat from Madison, #Wisconsin, to Birmingham, #Alabama.

"Forecasters grew increasingly worried that intense thunderstorms farther south will likely bring an even greater tornado threat Saturday.

"The Storm Prediction Center said parts of #Mississippi including Jackson and Hattiesburg and areas of #Alabama including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa will be at a high risk. Severe storms and tornadoes are also possible across eastern #Louisiana, western #Georgia, central #Tennessee and the western #Florida Panhandle.

"'We have a lot of confidence that we most likely will have a tornado outbreak tomorrow,' Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Evan Bentley said in an online briefing."

https://apnews.com/article/severe-weather-tornadoes-fire-blizzard-be7fe7207d483252d9ff31df58209d2b?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#ExtremeWeather #Polycrisis #USWx #Tornadoes #TornadoWarnings #TornadoOutbreak #BadDOGE #NWS
WE NEED #NationalWeatherService
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