A powerful and damaging spring storm system that wreaked havoc on the South earlier this week is continuing to barrel toward the East Coast, where more than 64 million people from Florida to New York are on alert for severe weather on Wednesday.
The system, which unleashed severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the South on Tuesday, is expected to continue to pack a punch as it impacts major metropolitan areas along the Eastern Seaboard, including those along the heavily traveled Interstate 95 corridor from the Southeast through the mid-Atlantic.
Powerful thunderstorms pushed through portions of the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday morning, and a Tornado Watch was issued for parts of the Carolinas that will remain in effect until at least 1 p.m. ET.
In North Carolina, cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh and Goldsboro are included in the Tornado Watch.
In South Carolina, the Tornado Watch includes cities such as Columbia, Charleston, Florence and Myrtle Beach.
A gradual decrease in severe weather took place Tuesday night as the storms congealed into a squall line. Strong winds and isolated tornadoes remained a concern, particularly along the Gulf Coast.
However, the lull is expected to be short-lived as the squall line continues heading toward the Eastern Seaboard on Wednesday.
By early Wednesday morning, numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Tornado Warnings were issued, including along the Florida Panhandle.
The line of storms is expected to reintensify with daytime heating, posing a significant risk of straight-line winds across the Carolinas.
A strong tornado is also possible, the FOX Forecast Center noted.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed nearly 10 million people in portions of eastern South Carolina, central and eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia in a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe weather on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
Specifically, cities like Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake in Virginia and Raleigh and Durham in North Carolina are in heightened danger as the storm system charges through the region.
In addition to the tornado risk, there is a high likelihood of damaging wind gusts higher than 75 mph, which is as strong as a Category 1 hurricane.
The damaging-wind threat includes the same areas at risk of tornadoes, like the Hampton Roads area in southeastern Virginia stretching through Raleigh and the Outer Banks of North Carolina and coastal areas of South Carolina, including Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
Other areas at risk of strong to severe storms include parts of Florida and eastern Georgia, as well as from western New York into the mid-Atlantic states.