Severe thunderstorms and relentless rain are triggering catastrophic flooding across the middle of the US this weekend, as areas already hit hard by a recent string of storms and tornadoes remain in the path of this current system.
The storms have killed at least 16 people across Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky since Wednesday. In Franklin County, Kentucky, a 9-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters while walking to his school bus stop, police said. And in Little Rock, Arkansas, a 5–year-old was killed at a home battered by severe weather.
There are 41 million people at risk for severe storms Saturday from the Ohio River Valley southwestward to southeast Texas, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Saturday is the third consecutive day of level 4 of 4 risk of flooding rain across the Mississippi Valley, including parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi. Residents in these areas will likely see the peak of “life-threatening” flash floods on Saturday afternoon to evening, when rainfall will be at its heaviest. The three-day stretch of the highest possible flooding threat is almost unheard-of outside hurricane season.
Very heavy showers and thunderstorms will continue to move repeatedly over portions of central and eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee over the next few hours. The high rainfall rates from these storms will lead to life-threatening and locally catastrophic flash flooding.
The storms have already prompted tens of thousands of power outages across the region and delays for more than 6,000 flights within, into or out of the US on Saturday.
As of Saturday, 36 million people were under flood watches and ongoing rain prompted over two dozen flash flood warnings from northeast Texas to southern Illinois. In some areas of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, flash flood emergencies – the highest level of flood warning – have been issued through Saturday evening.
The possibility of “generational” flooding that the National Weather Service warned about this week stems from a stagnation in the current weather pattern that’s caused the string of storms to repeatedly hit the same areas in the central and southern US. By Sunday, the “stuck” pattern will finally start to break, and the storms will begin to push eastward.
Storm threats will remain in effect for Florida Panhandle, Alabama and Georgia on Sunday, while the flood threat for Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky should lessen by Sunday afternoon.