Severe weather outbreak looms

Severe weather will be the big story for the next few days across the eastern half of the United States. Across the West, another storm is coming ashore. The Breakfast Brief is published daily, Monday through Friday, at 5:00 a.m. Eastern time.

There is a growing chance for a severe outbreak over the weekend, starting Friday across an extensive area from the southern Great Lakes through the Deep South and moving east during the weekend. We will be staffed and will bring you updates throughout the weekend.

This is the same system that produced torrential rains and heavy mountain snow over California. Unlike recent systems, this storm is picking up steam as it travels east and will be fueled by an upper-level low that will inject more energy into it, with plenty of moisture flowing from the Gulf of Mexico. This will put a large area at risk for large hail and numerous strong tornadoes.

There will be severe weather ahead of the storms, but very strong wind gusts will be behind them and to the west and south of the center of the low-pressure. Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth area could receive gusts above 60 mph, and similar wind gusts could pass through the Ozarks. Please secure loose objects in your balconies, patios, or gardens.

The risk moves to the Deep South and Southeast on Saturday into Sunday and over the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic between Sunday and Monday. Please pay close attention to the forecast and ensure alerts are turned on. Our meteorologists will work throughout the weekend to bring you frequent updates and send push alerts through our app.

Across the West, as mentioned yesterday in our Breakfast Brief and detailed in the forecast written by our Meteorologist Becca Parker, another storm is coming ashore. It is an impressive, large system noted in our WeatherRadar as it moved closer to the West Coast. It reached the coast early this morning and will continue propagating heavy rainfall along the entire coast. By the morning, heavy snow will impact the Sierras and southern Mountains.

Another impressive aspect of this storm will be the wind. As seen in our WindRadar, strong wind gusts will affect most of Oregon through California, with gusts above 60 mph that could bring down trees and cause power outages.

Severe weather threatens a large chunk of the nation Friday and through the weekend. Make sure your alerts are turned on and that you follow us on social media to stay informed and make the safest decisions for you and your family. Read more here.