CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS — A dangerous and intensifying line of severe storms is charging northeast through west Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois, prompting widespread Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and triggering Wireless Emergency Alerts on mobile phones across the region.
Forecasters warn this is not an ordinary squall line. Straight-line wind gusts between 75 and 90 mph are expected, with the potential for a few briefly strong EF2+ tornadoes embedded within the line. However, the primary concern remains widespread destructive wind damage.
Radar Shows a Violent, Continuous Wind Line
As of early evening, radar imagery shows a tightly organized, bowing line of storms stretching from near Jonesboro, Arkansas, through Dyersburg and Union City, Tennessee, and into Paducah, Kentucky, and Carbondale, Illinois.
Communities directly in the path include:
- Memphis and Dyersburg, Tennessee
- Union City and Paris, Tennessee
- Paducah and Madisonville, Kentucky
- Carbondale, Mount Vernon, and Centralia, Illinois
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Warning polygons blanket much of western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois, with red-shaded alerts indicating widespread severe thunderstorm warnings and embedded tornado warnings…