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Severe weather threat keeps trucking across South

Tornadoes, large hail, intense winds possible from Gulf Coast to Ohio Valley

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Intense thunderstorms will likely slow down truckers again across the South after a rough Monday.

One driver posted a Twitter video of tornado damage just west of Atlanta. She said she was caught in the storm but not hurt.

Other areas were also hit Monday from Texas to the Southeast, Midwest and mid-Atlantic. The National Weather Service (NWS) received 20 tornado reports, 125 wind damage reports and 95 reports of large hail, with some hail bigger than baseball size in Texas.

Plenty of humidity, instability and a slow-moving frontal boundary will add up to storms producing potential tornadoes, large hail, sudden severe crosswinds and flash flooding. The storms will come in waves, as opposed to slamming the region nonstop all day.


Tuesday’s threat for more dicey weather includes most of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. Not every city and town in these states will see severe storms or tornadoes, but many of them could. So it’s important for drivers to make sure their weather apps are set to “location” or “GPS” mode. This will ensure that the apps will follow the drivers and display weather alerts for local areas no matter where they are.


Related: 5 things truckers should know about severe storms


Odds for severe weather are lower in the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic but may happen in isolated spots as far north as Pennsylvania and western New York.

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By Wednesday, the risk remains marginal, stretching from the Gulf Coast to the mid-Atlantic, including the Interstate 75, 85 and 95 corridors.


Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.