MAP: More than a dozen states could see severe storms, tornadoes Wednesday
(NEXSTAR) – Parts of the country hit hard by destructive storms and deadly tornadoes Tuesday hardly have time to recover before the next threat rolls in Wednesday. The National Weather Service warns of a "long swath of severe weather potential" that spans over a dozen states.
On Tuesday, the worst storms pummeled Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. But on Wednesday, the greatest concern lay elsewhere.
"The severe threat today has stretched out across more of the country today with the focus of the nastiest storms moving south across parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas," said Nexstar meteorologist Brian James.
A National Weather Service forecast map (below) showed the possibility of severe weather as far north as New York.
"Damaging winds and large hail will be the main threats for most of those impacted by the stronger storms. A few tornadoes will also be possible, mainly across parts of Texas," said James.
Tornado watches were already in effect for parts of Texas by mid-day Wednesday.
The deadly twister that killed at least one person near Greenfield, Iowa, on Tuesday came amid a historically bad season for tornadoes in the U.S. at a time when climate change is heightening the severity of storms around the world. April had the second highest number of tornadoes on record in the U.S.
Through Tuesday, there had been 27% more tornadoes in the country than average. The preliminary count for this year of 859 is the highest since 2017 and is significantly more than the average of 676 through May 21, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Nearly 700 of the tornadoes have been in April and May.
Iowa has had the most tornadoes this year with 81, followed by Texas with 74 and Kansas and Ohio each with 66. The National Weather Service said it received 23 tornado reports Tuesday, with most in Iowa — including the one in Greenfield — and one each in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.