FORT SMITH - As much of the area braces for severe weather, one of the nation’s leading experts on tornado season has weighed in with his chances for what will happen in the Arkansas River Valley.
Dr. Greg Forbes with The Weather Channel is known for his work with the TORCON rating, which issues the chances of a tornado happening within fifty miles of any given location. The longtime meteorologist said Wednesday that in Fort Smith and the surrounding areas, he had given us a 5 rating, meaning there is a fifty percent chance.
The National Weather Service said Thursday that the threat is still very real for the area.
“On Friday, the strong storm system will move into the Plains region, leading to an increase in the severe thunderstorm potential, as well as continued elevated fire weather conditions.” Meteorologists said. “Scattered thunderstorms will likely be ongoing Friday morning across the area with a few elevated strong to severe thunderstorms developing through mid afternoon. Additional surface based development will occur on the dryline by late afternoon and into the evening hours.”
The storms are still expected to pack a heavy punch.
“A few of these storms could become supercells with the threat for baseball size hail, damaging winds, and possibly, a few tornadoes. The greatest potential continues to be across far Eastern Oklahoma and also Northwest Arkansas. The severe weather threat will shift east of the region shortly after midnight.”
InsideFortSmith.Com will continue to keep readers updated via our social media channels of any severe weather in the area.