Severe Storms to Bring Tornado Danger to Missouri Friday

Friday will be a day to be alert in Missouri as there's almost certainly going to be explosive storm development that will bring strong winds, big hail and possibly even a big outbreak of tornadoes.

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center has just updated their convective outlook for Friday and Missouri is in the middle of potential trouble

The meteorologists have a lot of technical terms to explain why, but I'll simplify it. We knew that Friday would be a likely day for storms, but earlier this week it seemed like the energy/fuel for those storms would be limited. All of those limits are now gone.

Here are the exact words from the Storm Prediction Center about Missouri specifically:

"A volatile environment will develop near and ahead of the cold front Friday afternoon, with significant severe hail, wind, and several tornadoes expected"

AccuWeather has gone as far as to predict between 1 and 2 dozen tornadoes Friday. Yes, that's "dozen".

Digital meteorologist Ryan Hall is also onboard with Friday being a dangerous day for tornadoes especially in Missouri. He has us in the area where EF-2 or higher tornadoes are possible.

When will the severe thunderstorms begin to impact Missouri?

Here's what the National Weather Service in St. Louis has shared about the timing of the severe thunderstorms and potential tornadoes.

Even if tornado development doesn't happen, strong winds and likely big hail almost certainly will. Hail could be golf ball to baseball sized which means anyone or anything outside in its path will be in danger. The bottom line is to be weather aware starting Friday afternoon into the early evening. Let's hope all of the expected storm energy doesn't come together like it potentially might or a true tornado outbreak could happen.