2 million people are at ‘high’ risk for catastrophic tornadoes in parts of Oklahoma and Texas

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2 million people are at ‘high’ risk for catastrophic tornadoes in parts of Oklahoma and Texas

20/05/2019 8:12pm

For the first time in two years, forecasters have issued their most dire warning for the risk of catastrophic tornadoes.

The target: parts of the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, which is also marking the sixth anniversary of a tornado that pulverized the city of Moore, killing 24 people.

Over 2 million people are in harm’s way as the the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued a threat level 5 out of 5 for violent tornadoes Monday.

“This event should result in a significant threat to life and property,” the Storm Prediction Center said.

Forecasters also said conditions are favorable “for long-track strong tornadoes and possibly violent tornadoes.”

To put things in perspective, violent tornadoes make up only 0.5% of all tornadoes but account for about half of all tornado deaths, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

But it’s not just tornadoes expected to wreak havoc Monday.

More than 50 million people are at risk of other severe weather, including fierce winds, large hail and flash flooding, Miller said.

On top of that, “there is also a high risk for flash flooding from parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, where rainfall totals of 3-6″ will fall on already saturated ground,” CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

The risk is so high, schools are closed in some of the hardiest, storm-weathered cities: Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

VIEW VIDEO and more news here from our CNN partners…

– WeatherWatch.co.nz is a CNN Weather affiliate

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