Severe storm, tornado danger to shift to Tennessee Valley, central Gulf Coast on Monday

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

December 27,2015; 9:41PM,EST

 

 

After blasting the southern Plains over the weekend, the danger of severe weather will shift to the central Gulf Coast and Tennessee Valley on Monday.
The line of severe thunderstorms set to march across the lower Mississippi Valley Sunday night will continue eastward on Monday.
The violent thunderstorms will sweep in a west-to-east fashion across Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, Tennessee and Kentucky on Monday.

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After departing Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans early in the morning, the thunderstorms will take aim at Tupelo and Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama; Nashville; and Louisville, Kentucky.
The strongest thunderstorms will be capable of producing damaging winds and blinding downpours, which will reduce visibility and heighten the risk of vehicles hydroplaning at highway speeds.
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"A cold front will keep a squall line going in an area where considerable wind shear is present, leading to concern for a few isolated tornadoes," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Frank Strait. Wind shear relates to the amount of twisting motion is present in the atmosphere, which helps to spin up tornadoes.
A tornado threat is the last thing those still cleaning up from the tornadoes this Christmas week want to hear.

"This is probably going to be a situation where tornadoes spin up quickly and dissipate quickly," added Strait. "People will want to stay alert for threatening weather conditions and have a way to get warnings for their area."
Residents and anyone traveling in Monday's threat zone is urged to monitor AccuWeather MinuteCast®, weather radios and other media outlets to hear these vital warnings.
Monday's severe weather will erupt as a cold front slices into the record-challenging warmth that will send temperatures soaring into the 70s throughout most of the Southeast.
While downpours will remain, the severe weather danger will wane as the thunderstorms reach Atlanta and the southern Appalachians and cooler air filters over places to the west Monday night.