Spring Severe Weather Season Forecast to Kick Off with a Bang

The severe weather outbreak that forecasters have been warning about for days is right on the horizon for parts of the central and eastern U.S. Here is a look at the latest forecast heading into the new work week.

First Week of March Will Bring First Widespread Severe Weather Outbreak

An early March severe weather event is going to impact over 20 states in the days ahead, producing a variety of potentially dangerous effects. The storms will fire up on Tuesday and will linger into Wednesday across a large portion of the nation's heartland and over into the eastern U.S.

The storm system is expected to intensify late Monday before tracking to the east. Roughly 170 million people in a zone from the southern Plains and up into the Midwest and the East Coast will be under the gun for the strong thunderstorms. The most dangerous impact is expected to be the strong winds that whip up along with the storms.

Winds will be powerful enough to bring down trees and power lines, resulting in widespread power outages across Texas and Oklahoma and through the Gulf Coast and down into Florida. The threat of high winds will extend as far north as Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In addition to the usual storm impacts of heavy rain, frequent lightning, and high winds, the system will also be capable of producing tornadic activity. Unfortunately for the central U.S., some of these twisters can spin up under the cover of darkness, elevating the potential danger.

The first signs of the impending weather maker was felt over the southern fringe of the Rockies and the Plains as the weekend came to a close. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph are expected to persist for several days. The increasingly dry vegetation over the High Plains will result in a heightened wildfire danger as the winds begin to increase in intensity on Monday and Tuesday.

A cold front coming in on the backside of the storm will bring up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico throughout the day Monday and into the overnight hours. The primed atmosphere will pair with this moisture to support the development of thunderstorms.

The most potent wind activity will train over central Texas, Oklahoma, and southern Kansas late Monday. For instance, Oklahoma City is forecast to see winds out of the south-southeast at 15 to 25 mph on Monday. Some gusts could eclipse the 40 mph mark. The predicted onslaught of storms is expected to erupt during the evening and overnight hours in the capital city. Rainfall of about an inch is on tap as winds increase to speeds of 20 to 30 mph.