Big dangers loom today

After a wild Wednesday and overnight filled with deadly tornadoes and flooding downpours across the South, conditions will be slow to improve today. Major flooding threat is growing.

At least 21 tornadoes occurred on Wednesday, with extensive damage reported in Arkansas and Tennessee.

The WeatherRadar shows heavy rain and thunderstorms slowly moving along an elongated cold front from northeastern Oklahoma into the Ohio Valley. This front won't move today and with bountiful Gulf moisture feeding the thunderstorms along the front, waves of downpours will occur.

The persistent downpours will produce 5 to 10 inches of total rainfall through Saturday from northeastern Oklahoma northeastward across the Ozarks into the central Mississippi, lower Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

Rivers, creeks and mountain valleys will not be able to handle the amount of rainfall in a short period of time and flooding will occur. In some areas, this flooding could be a once-in-a-generation occurrence.

Flooding is one of the top natural disaster killers in the U.S. In 2024, more than 180 people died in flooding and more than one-third of them died in vehicles. Remember, a flooded road could be washed out or the current could be strong enough to sweep a car downstream. Turn around, don't drown.

Weather & Radar meteorologists will be covering the storm and flood dangers through the rest of the week.