A massive storm that brought two inches of ping-pong ball-sized hail and heavy rain to Texas and Arizona will move east.
The severe weather threat is expected to move into the southern United States starting Sunday, bringing dangerous winds and up to 10 inches of rain to 70 million residents.
The storm hit the Lone Star State on Saturday afternoon with large hail and heavy rainfall.
High flooding also hit Arizona, causing Tonto Creek, about 18 miles from the town of Payson, to overflow its banks and leaving drivers stranded on nearby roads.
Between one and two inches of rain are expected to fall in places in northeast Texas, Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas through Monday. AccuWeather reported.
Pieces of hail seen on the ground, intertwined with brown leaves in Texas
The Texas-Louisiana border and the Smoky Mountains could see two to four inches of rain. Storms are also expected across the south.
In addition to the rain, hail and strong winds are also expected to arrive to the south.
Drivers should expect delays on the roads and air traffic will also be affected by the storm with possible delays and cancellations.
AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said: “Flight delays are likely at airports such as Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International, the world’s busiest airport, as heavy rain and storms develop on Monday.”
Major storms are forecast for Houston, New Orleans, Jackson and Birmingham starting Sunday and continuing into the evening.
The storms are expected to reach Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas early Sunday. There could also be a chance for a second storm surge in the Gulf Coast and Mississippi Valley region later in the day.
Large hail balls are seen on the ground in East Texas Sunday morning. Freeport residents said this was their first hail storm since 2017.
Colder weather in the south could also allow rain to turn to snow early in the week when the storm makes landfall.
Residents of Freeport, Texas, about an hour from Houston, experienced their first hail storm Friday since 2017, as quarter-sized hail damaged some homes in the area.
“It started pouring rain and the hail fell on the roof of the car like ‘BANG, BANG,’ it was like it was going to break the glass or the windshield,” said Marjorie Wilson, a gas station attendant in Freeport. WREX.
Although their car was not damaged, other residents were not so lucky as the roofs of their homes were destroyed and could take weeks to repair.
A resident of Whitehouse, Texas, had a large piece of hail in his hand and compared it to a quarter on Sunday.
Rains in the typically dry state of Arizona shook residents as heavy flooding swept across most of the territory.
Tonto Basin resident Randy Roberson said 3TV that flooding has been a “recurring problem for decades.”
A white pickup truck trapped in flood waters near Tonto Creek in Arizona on Friday. Excess water left many drivers trapped on nearby roads.
The storm from Texas and Arizona is expected to move into the southern United States on Sunday. Heavy rain, hail, strong winds and possible tornadoes are forecast
A Whitehouse, Texas, resident is seen holding a large piece of hail in his hand and compared it to a quarter on Sunday.
“Some people have lost their lives and this is because people on the east side of the creek need to cross and take risks and sometimes make bad decisions,” Roberson said.
Hail also hit the state as large chunks were seen falling from the sky around cactus plants.
Damaging winds and tornadoes could also hit the south, with the greatest threats occurring late Monday night and into the early morning hours.
On Monday, parts of northern Florida, the peninsula and Georgia should also expect high winds and threats of tornadoes.
Hail, although often confused with ice pellets, is a form of solid precipitation that refreezes in the atmosphere before falling to the ground.
Storms go hand-in-hand with hail, as pieces freeze during an updraft in the atmosphere.
