Tornado forecast: NOAA issues 'high risk' alert for intense, long-track tornadoes

Potentially intense and historic tornadoes are in the forecast for Oklahoma and other nearby states on Monday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issued the highest severe weather risk alert possible, for multiple intense, long-track tornadoes Monday afternoon and evening.

Some tornadoes could last after dark and into the overnight hours. Nighttime tornadoes are very dangerous.

This is the first "high risk" designation for severe storms this year and the first in Oklahoma since 2019.

The forecast for Tornado Alley includes the potential for significant severe storms from Nebraska to Texas, especially in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Storms are expected to pop up and eventually, possibly quickly, form a line of supercells marching east, with all modes of severe weather possible.

Multiple strong tornadoes with giant hail the size of softballs are possible. The destructive thunderstorms could see winds up to 80 mph.

At 3 p.m. ET, storms will begin popping up from Nebraska to Kansas – from Kearney, Nebraska to Hays, Kansas.

Storms will likely explode in size quickly once they are sparked and will initially “come out of nowhere,” so everyone needs to be on alert, especially at the onset locations.

There will likely be tornado watches issued before any storms develop. People will need to be ready for anything quickly when they are issued.

A "particularly dangerous situation" tornado watch has been issued for parts of south-central Kansas (including Wichita), much of Oklahoma (including OKC), and into far northern Texas (including Wichita Falls) through 12 p.m. ET.

By 6 p.m. ET, storms are popping and growing quickly from Nebraska to central Oklahoma. Strong and long-track tornadoes, including giant hail up to softball size, are possible at this time.

Storms will continue pushing east by 8 p.m. ET, now entering the battered the Beatrice, Nebraska area along with Wichita Kansas.

More storms may pop by 12 ET, east of Oklahoma City, an area devastated by tornadoes at the end of April. A storm line then forms from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Joplin, Missouri, to Kansas City, Missouri, with all modes of severe weather possible.

The line continues east overnight and eventually dies out as it reaches Paducah, Kentucky, by sunrise.

New energy will bring renewed chances for storms on Tuesday and Wednesday.