Spring might be well underway but for millions across the nation, beginning in the northeast, this week's weather is predicted to be far from mild.
A cold front emerging from the Great Lakes region is expected to bring a series of severe thunderstorms across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The chief concern will be severe winds, but there is also a risk of hail and tornadoes in some areas.
Further south and west, there's a reduced but still present risk of severe storms. Central Ohio, western Pennsylvania and the Catskills could all experience some severe weather.
Beginning later Sunday afternoon some 42 million people are expected to be grappling with the worst of the storms.
"The majority of [Sunday] is actually really nice, but then once the storms pop up, it's kind of this west-to-east line that's going to move down toward the south," meteorologist Ari Sarsalari told Fox Weather.
"If you live in places like New York City, even though the severe threat is not quite as high there, the storms won't arrive until pretty late," he added.
Fortunately, he noted, "tt's a brief round of storms, and then it's out of here."
On Monday, the Plains states will experience their own severe weather — with Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas, expected to experience some buffeting
"An emerging area of low pressure over the Front Range/High Plains on Monday will quickly intensify into a significant mid-latitude cyclone by that evening," the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center warned. "Showers and thunderstorms will develop across the Great Plains on Monday afternoon."
An enhanced risk of severe storms is also expected to extend as far south as Texas, with the NWS warning that there could be large hail and some tornadoes. This comes just as many of the central and southern states are dealing with unseaonbly warm weather.
