Weather Outside Your Window: Severe storms prompting tornado watches, warnings in central US

By Alyssa Smithmyer, AccuWeather Meteorologist

Published Feb. 22, 2022 8:25 AM EST | Updated Feb. 22, 2022 3:27 PM EST

Residents from northeastern Louisiana to western Kentucky are gearing up for potentially damaging thunderstorms on Tuesday following a round of severe thunderstorms that ripped through northern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas Monday night.

Forecasters say that thunderstorms will erupt across the Mississippi Valley and develop northeastward into Tuesday evening.

A tornado warning was in place for Mayfield, Kentucky, shortly before 7 a.m. local time Tuesday. Mayfield was leveled by a powerful EF4 tornado in mid-December that left catastrophic damage throughout western Kentucky.

Similar threats that materialized Monday evening throughout northeastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and parts of southern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas will revamp again on Tuesday across the Mississippi Valley.

"As Tuesday's system evolves, storms will explode farther south across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Any of these storms will be capable of producing damaging winds, flooding downpours and a tornado," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz.

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Multiple tornado warnings were issued Monday night in eastern counties of Oklahoma and western counties of Arkansas as storms continued to roll northeastward. A funnel cloud was reported near Justin, Texas, located about 36 miles northwest of Dallas, around 9:30 p.m. CST Monday.

Multiple hail reports ranging in size from 0.75-1.75 inches in diameter were sent in from Fort Worth, Texas, late Monday. Nearby, numerous houses were reportedly damaged south of Decatur, Texas, when large hail broke through windows, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center (SPC).

More than 9 million are facing a "slight" risk of severe weather on Tuesday, according to the SPC. This population area includes Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; and Jackson, Mississippi.

Severe thunderstorms were seen on radar tracking near Mayfield, Kentucky, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Mayfield was leveled by a historic tornado outbreak in December.

The severe storms brought wind gusts upwards of 55 mph overnight Monday across Texas and Oklahoma. According to a local news report, in Lawton, Oklahoma, multiple 2,500-gallon rainwater tanks were thrown into vehicles by strong wind gusts.

Through Tuesday night, damaging winds across the Mississippi Valley will also be capable of gusting up to the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph.

All modes of severe weather such as damaging wind gusts, flooding downpours, large hail and isolated tornadoes will be possible through Tuesday night.

Drenching rain spreading from the Mississippi Valley and the Northeast will bring the threat of flash flooding through Wednesday morning, forecasters say.

According to the NWS, some area rivers and streams across the Tennessee and Ohio valleys are already at a minor flood stage. A few locations in Ohio and Indiana are experiencing moderate flooding, such as the Tippecanoe River and St. Joseph River. Forecasters are concerned that additional rainfall will exacerbate the river flooding throughout the region.

The highest rainfall totals are expected to be from northeastern Arkansas to the eastern Kentucky border through Wednesday morning. Cities such as Nashville and Louisville will be in the zone of the heaviest rainfall, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 6 inches predicted.

"Areas have been hit hard with rain already this month, so the ground is already saturated. That means any additional rainfall will run off quickly into already swollen rivers, keeping river levels high and contributing to additional flooding through at least Wednesday," said Benz.

On Wednesday, rain and thunderstorms will return to the Gulf Coast as the second storm shifting across the country this week arrives in the central U.S.

Forecasters say that storms on Wednesday will be isolated and likely not become severe.