Severe Weather in Parts of South, Midwest and East Could Create Stormy Halloween

An "Indian Summer" in the South and parts of the Midwest and East may yield a stormy Halloween. 

The unseasonably warm weather in parts of the U.S., in addition to a powerhouse jet stream, has heightened the threat of severe weather, Weather.com confirms. 

The jet stream, which is the band of winds around 30,000 feet in the air that influence large-scale weather patters, has traveled southward across the western states in the last few days and is now headed for the midwest. Southerly winds have also blown in moist air from the Gulf of Mexico into the southern Plains, the Lower Mississippi Valley, and eventually to the Ohio Valley and the East. 

On Wednesday, the greatest chance for severe thunderstorms will be from eastern Kansas to western Missouri to Texas. Those states could be hit with wind gusts, isolated tornadoes and hail. The threat of severe storms includes Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tulsa, Okla.

Heavy rainfall could also contribute to flash flooding in southeast Oklahoma, northwest Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas.  

On Thursday, the corridor from the Ohio Valley to the lower Mississippi Valley and western Gulf Coast could have their Halloween festivities dampened by damaging wind gusts, torrential rainfall and isolated tornadoes. The greatest threat of severe weather on Halloween will be in southern Indiana to northern Mississippi. Louisville, Ky., Nashville, Tenn. and Houston, Texas could also see severe weather on Thursday. 

A threat of damaging straight-line winds exists overnight Thursday night from the eastern Great Lakes and Appalachians into the upper Ohio Valley. High winds watches have been posted for parts of western and central New York. 

The severe storms could continue into Friday in the southeast. Heavy rain will also move through the Northeast, which could include strong wind gusts with little or no lightening. Areas affected could be southern New England and the eastern Great Lakes, possibly including Boston, New York City and Buffalo. Power outages and downed trees could possibly occur in those areas.