OKLAHOMA CITY – School districts and authorities are bracing for the possibility of a severe weather outbreak that could produce powerful, long-track tornadoes and large hail Tuesday in some central and southern Plains states.
The most dangerous weather – heavy winds, tornadoes and hail as large as baseballs or softballs- will likely take aim at a 69,000-square-mile area stretching from southern Oklahoma to southern Nebraska, including the Oklahoma City area, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.
In all, 25 million people from the Rio Grande River in south Texas to Omaha, Nebraska, and the western regions of Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa are at a slight risk or higher of experiencing severe weather Tuesday. In the east, a separate storm system could bring thunderstorms, strong winds and hail to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., but the risk of severe outbreaks is low.
“We shouldn’t assume that we’re going to have a lot of information – you know, a lot of lead time,” Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Mosier said. “We may or we may not.”
Administrators for Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, planned to meet early Tuesday morning to assess the weather and determine whether to cancel classes, spokesman Mark Myers said in an emailed statement.