Thunderstorms capable of localized Severe Weather from Texas to Oklahoma and Missouri Sunday

Thunderstorms capable of localized severe weather will erupt from Texas to Oklahoma and Arkansas Sunday evening before moving eastward into Monday.

The circulation around a snowstorm over the northern Plains this weekend will help to create the springlike conditions farther to the south and east.

The storms will be fueled by a flow of warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico and strong winds aloft slicing in from the southwest.

A fast-moving line of thunderstorms is likely to develop from northeastern Texas to eastern Oklahoma late Sunday afternoon or evening, according to AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Richard Schraeger.

"The greatest threats will be for wind gusts to 60 mph that may knock down trees, result in sporadic power outages and perhaps cause minor property damage," Schraeger said.

The risk of an isolated tornado or two will be low, but not zero. The greatest threat for a tornado will occur as storms initially develop across southeast Oklahoma and northeast Texas late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening.

The line of storms may grow northward into part of Missouri and southward toward the upper Texas coast.

"The storms are likely to progress quickly to the east across Arkansas and Louisiana during the overnight hours on Sunday," Schraeger said. "Since the storms will survive the overnight hours, they may catch some people off guard."

Crosswinds from the storms may be strong enough to flip over lightweight trailers along the corridors of Interstates 30, 44 and 55.

The storms may affect airline operations for a time in Houston Sunday night and New Orleans on Monday.

In lieu of severe weather, downpours with gusty winds, thunder and lightning may occur as far to the north as St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati on Monday. Airlines may experience some delays as this adverse weather swings through.

"Because of the fast-moving nature of the storms, we do not expect widespread flooding with this event over the Central states," Schraeger said.

However, the combination of the thaw and rain from the storm system may exacerbate ice jam flooding in parts of the Midwest and the Northeast.

Downpours may be intense enough to cause highly localized flash flooding which may pose a hazard and travel delays for motorists.