OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Forecasters are warning that severe storms could bring powerful, long-track tornadoes and grapefruit-sized hail to the Great Plains on Tuesday, prompting some schools in Oklahoma to preemptively cancel classes.
The most dangerous weather — heavy winds, tornadoes that stay on the ground for a long time and giant hail — will likely take aim at a 70,000-square-mile area stretching from southern Oklahoma to southern Nebraska, including the Oklahoma City area, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
"We shouldn't assume that we're going to have a lot of information — you know, a lot of lead time," Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Mosier said. "We may or we may not."
In all, nearly 37 million people from the Rio Grande in South Texas to Omaha, Nebraska, and the western regions of Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa are at a slight risk or higher of experiencing severe weather Tuesday. That tally also includes Philadelphia and Baltimore, where a separate storm system could bring strong winds and thunderstorms to Mid-Atlantic states.
Storms are expected in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, where voters are casting ballots in primary elections Tuesday, though forecasters aren't expecting a severe weather outbreak there.
Mid-Del Public Schools, in the Oklahoma City suburb of Midwest City, decided Monday night to call off classes for Tuesday. The district said in a statement that the safety of students and staff was its top priority, noting that it reworked its tornado safety plan three years ago after a twister killed seven schoolchildren in the neighboring suburb of Moore.
Officials with Oklahoma City Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma were meeting early Tuesday to determine plans for the day. Other schools in Oklahoma canceled afternoon and evening activities, when the storms are expected to roll in.
In recent years, authorities have been able to predict storm conditions like these several days in advance with greater confidence, Mosier said, though he noted that the weather doesn't always pan out as expected.
"It's never straightforward when you're sitting here talking about (predicting) large tornadoes," Mosier said. "We're trying to be as confident or as accurate as we can."
Residents of affected areas should develop a plan to take shelter from a quick-forming storm without driving in severe conditions, Mosier said.
