A new storm will hit the Midwest and South again

Beijing, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The weather forecast of the National Weather Service shows that parts of the central west and south of the United States will again encounter severe weather, including tornadoes, from 4 to 4 April. This is only a few days after the last tornado swept through the Midwest and South.

According to the information of the National Storm Prediction Center under the National Weather Service on the 3rd, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and other states are in the storm risk area. In addition, "dangerous nighttime tornadoes" may occur between the night of the 4th and the morning of the 5th, which tend to be more deadly than daytime tornadoes.

On March 3, in Arabi, Louisiana, USA, a school bus was overturned by a tornado. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Leslie Gamboni).

The Midwest and South of the United States have been hit by many storms recently, 11 states reported tornadoes, and at least 32 people died in Tennessee, Arkansas and other states. Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist at the Norman Weather Center in Oklahoma, told The Associated Press that more than 3 extreme weather reports were received across the United States from March 31 to April 4, including tornadoes, hail and destructive winds. According to USA Today, as of the morning of the 2rd, the National Weather Service has confirmed 800 tornadoes.

According to the Associated Press, dry air currents from the western United States "collided" with warm and wet air currents from the Gulf of Mexico over the Rocky Mountains, prone to tornadoes and damaging winds. Current weather conditions similar to those that triggered multiple storms on March 3 will again spawn tornadoes, strong winds and hail, and over time may form a "thunderstorm belt" and continue eastward.

Arkansas was one of the first states to experience severe weather on March 3, with at least five people killed, including four reported in the town of Wayne. Little Rock, the state capital, was badly affected, killing at least one person and injuring more than 31 people, some seriously. Nearly 5,4 homes were damaged by strong winds, and overturned vehicles and downed trees were everywhere.

This is the devastation shot in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, on April 4. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Sun Yan).

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Director Patrick Sheehan said at least 15 deaths have been reported in the state, including nine in McNairy County. In Belvedere, Illinois, the roof of a theater partially collapsed in high winds and hail, killing 9 person, hospitalizing 1 people and injuring 48 critically.

The National Weather Service survey team also confirmed four tornadoes in New Jersey and one tornado in Delaware. In Delaware, one person died in a windstorm, the first tornado-linked death in the state in 4 years.

Storms drive up the risk of extreme weather hazards and fires. In Oklahoma, more than 40 homes were destroyed by wildfires, forcing the government to urgently close interstates and evacuate residents. Jessica Garlinger, who was able to keep her house, recalled: "The wind was terrible, the fire was like a blowtorch, we just put out one place, and it would start again. ”

According to the National Weather Service, the risk of fire remains high in parts of western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado, with low humidity, dry vegetation and gusts of wind speeds of up to 113 kilometers per hour. (Li Fuyu)