Nearly 80 million people on alert as severe storms expected to hit the East Coast
Nearly 80 million people along the East Coast from northern Georgia to Maine are on alert on Sunday for severe storms.
The main threats to the East Coast are expected to be damaging winds, large hail and lightning. An isolated tornado or two are also possible.
Cities within the potentially widespread storm zone include New York City, Albany, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Severe storms are expected to move into the East Coast on Sunday afternoon and into the night, rolling in from Ohio and Tennessee.
The expected severe weather along the East Coast comes a day after severe storms wreaked havoc in parts of the central Plains.
Softball-sized hail was reported on Saturday near Winfield, Kansas, about 45 miles south of Wichita, while hail larger than golf balls was reported in other parts of Kansas and Nebraska.
A weather station measured 84 mph winds from a thunderstorm that moved through Neosho, Missouri, near Joplin, toppling numerous trees and causing widespread power outages, officials said.
Wind gusts over 75 mph were reported as thunderstorms moved across Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. A storm that hit Kansas City, Missouri, prompted an hour-long delay in a game at Kauffman Stadium between the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros, where fans were instructed to seek shelter immediately.
Soaking rain in store for the South this week
A slow-moving cold front headed toward the South is expected to bring wet weather to the region at the beginning of the workweek.
Soaking rain is expected through Tuesday from Texas to Georgia, with some areas expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain.
Summer heat lingers in the Southeast and West Coast
Meanwhile, summer heat and humidity are expected to continue in the South, with heat advisories in effect for parts of the Carolinas as well as southern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
Heat indices, or what the temperature feels like, are expected to climb to above 100 in Raleigh, Savannah, Georgia; and Tallahassee, Florida.
On the West Coast, heat alerts are in place in parts of California's San Joaquin Valley from Redding at the north end of the valley to Bakersfield at the south end, with actual high temperatures from 100 to possibly 105.
Heat alerts are also in effect on Sunday across the coastal Pacific Northwest from Medford, Oregon, to Seattle. A potentially life-threatening heat wave is expected on Sunday through Tuesday for parts of the Pacific Northwest, with daytime high temperatures reaching 95 to 100 degrees and evening lows only getting down into the 60s and 70s.
