After a barrage of supercell storms battered much of the central U.S. Friday, March 31, parts of Southwest Tennessee still in recovery mode are expecting another round of severe weather starting late Tuesday, April 4. 

As a cold front approaches the region, the National Weather Service of Memphis has warned of potentially damaging winds and large hail that could hit the area between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. 

The forecast is milder than last week’s outlook, which prompted NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center to issue a rare “high risk” forecast for Memphis — one of the most urgent warning the agency can issue ahead of severe weather. 

National Weather Service breaks down Friday’s tornadoes

Despite a milder forecast, damage sustained Friday night has made the area more vulnerable. NWS of Memphis hydrologist Katie Dedeaux said they can’t rule out tornados, but the main threats are hail and strong winds. 

“People really need to pay close attention to the weather, because there are going to be periods of time where you don’t want to be outside doing clean-up,” Dedeaux said. “Hopefully, the people who have already been impacted won’t be impacted again.” 

Initial reports from NWS of Memphis’ coverage area confirmed that EF-3 tornadoes touched down in Covington and Adamsville, Tennessee, as well as in Wynne, Arkansas. The NWS has also identified an additional EF-1 tornado track in DeSoto County near Eudora, Mississippi. 

At least 32 people died in the storms, which touched down from Arkansas to Delaware. 

The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed 15 weather-related fatalities in the state, including three in Shelby County as a result of straight-line winds.

Covington ‘impassable’ after tornado; Arkansas under state of emergency

Memphis police responded to reports of downed trees in the 3100 block of South Edgeware Road in Oakhaven, which is bordered by the airport to the north and west. Just after noon on Saturday, police officers found two children and one adult who were pronounced dead at the scene. 

The weekend storm damaged more than 250 homes in Tennessee, based on initial reports, but NWS of Memphis said Monday afternoon that the number of storms and their overlapping paths complicates their surveys, which will continue for a few days. They encourage people to share storm reports, along with photos or videos. 

Shelby County’s electric infrastructure took a hit, as well. About 40,000 customers were without power over the weekend, but less than 1% of Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s customers faced outages by Monday.

“Damaging wind caused trees to fall, sheared transmission and distribution poles and downed lines along main streets and rear property lines in the Sea Isle and Yorkshire neighborhoods,” MLGW said in a statement Sunday.