Severe weather watches, warnings and warnings blanketed the central part of the country as forecasters warned of blizzard and thunderstorm-like conditions.
Severe weather causes tornadoes, hail, and flooding across the eastern United States
Millions of people issued tornado watches and warnings due to the intense storms, and there were reports that a record 6 inches of hail could fall.
A severe late-winter storm is expected to rapidly intensify and hit the central United States on Sunday, March 15 with a combination of blizzard-like conditions and thunderstorms.
The storm is expected to move across the Plains and toward the Great Lakes by the morning of March 15, impacting millions of people with severe weather, according to AccuWeather.
“This storm definitely means business,” said AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick, adding that the weather company classifies it as a “March storm.”
Maps display severe weather watches and warnings
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The National Weather Service predicted that a low-pressure system would move east over Wyoming, with heavy snow expected to the north of the low-pressure system. The upper Midwest could see 1 to 3 feet of snow. Blizzard conditions are possible in the area with wind gusts exceeding 80 mph.
This situation is expected to continue until March 16, when the Bureau of Meteorology announced that the storm will reach its peak strength. Temperatures in the northern Plains could reach -20 degrees Celsius, and parts of Texas could experience subzero temperatures, the National Weather Service said.
A cold front containing freezing rain and strong winds could move through the central regions of the country, especially the Midwest and South Central United States. Severe weather is expected to extend through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys into the Deep South, with the risk of thunderstorms.
Feerick said the storm could pose a risk to travel and power outages in both the upper Midwest and the south.
Contributors: Dinah Voyles Pulver and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
