Central and eastern parts of the United States are battening down the hatches this week as a major storm system is going to bring heavy rain, snow, hail, and potential tornadoes.
The National Weather Service is reporting that around 50 million people will be under severe weather advisories this week. The NWS says flash floods, long-track tornadoes, and baseball-sized hail are all possible.
The highest risk will be for those in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, especially in the afternoon and evening hours of Tuesday, meteorologists shared.
However, those as far south as the Gulf Coast and as far east as Virginia and the Carolinas may see some of the intense storm conditions, the weather service added.
Throughout this week, large storms will also bring a torrential downpour and severe thunderstorms across the mid-Atlantic and parts of the southeast.
The NWS issued a slight risk of severe thunderstorms for Wednesday and Thursday throughout both regions. Frequent lightning, strong wind gusts, “a few tornadoes,” and hail are all possible on both days this week.
Conditions in the southeast and mid-Atlantic are expected to subside by Friday.
In the Midwest, the weather service shared that heavy snow is expected to fall on Tuesday across northern Illinois, much of Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Predictions say at least 4 to 8 inches of snow is possible across those areas, with the greatest chance being in eastern Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The same storm system is expected to unleash snow throughout the northeast on Wednesday and last through Friday.