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Heavy Rain is Likely Across the Mid-Atlantic States Today Along With Potentially Damaging Wind Gusts; Critical Fire Weather in the Great Basin

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected today across the Mid-Atlantic and forecast to contain heavy to excessive rainfall. Numerous instances of flash flooding are possible in southern Virginia and north-central North Carolina. Severe thunderstorms are also possible across the northern Great Plains today. Elevated to Critical Fire Weather located across the Intermountain West. Read More >

Overview

A strong storm system led to significant impacts across our region on March 3, 2023. Heavy rainfall amounts of 3 to 4.5 inches produced widespread flash flooding with numerous road closures. Very strong winds occurred, ranging between 50 and 70 mph. These were associated with both thunderstorms and gradient winds afterwards. The line of storms moved through during the late morning and midday time period, and then very strong winds continued for hours afterwards through the afternoon. NWS Paducah issued a rare High Wind Warning to account for the strong winds that persisted for hours. The magnitude and duration of this wind produced significant damage to trees, power lines, homes, etc. Soggy ground due to the excessive rainfall likely contributed to some trees being more susceptible to being blown over. Numerous power outages occurred, particularly across western Kentucky. 8 tornadoes occurred along the line of thunderstorms across west Kentucky and southwest Indiana. This included an EF-2 tornado that occurred just south of Paducah, KY shortly after 11 AM. Finally, the lowest barometic pressure of all-time was observed in Paducah (977.7 mb) and Evansville, IN (976.0 mb).

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Map of the 8 tornadoes that touched down
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