Severe storm threat puts 80 million across US east coast on alert

Nearly 80 million people across the US East Coast were under severe weather alerts on June 14 as a powerful storm system threatened areas stretching from northern Georgia to Maine, according to media reports.

Forecasters warned of damaging winds, large hail, frequent lightning and the potential for isolated tornadoes as the storms moved eastward, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Major population centres within the affected zone include New York City, Albany, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Meteorologists said the storm system was expected to reach the East Coast on Sunday afternoon and continue through the evening after advancing from parts of Ohio and Tennessee.

The threat follows severe weather that swept across portions of the central Plains on Saturday. Near Winfield, Kansas, hailstones as large as softballs were reported, while other areas of Kansas and Nebraska saw hail exceeding the size of golf balls.

In Missouri, a weather station recorded wind gusts of 84 mph in Neosho, resulting in downed trees and widespread power outages.

Meanwhile, a slow-moving cold front is forecast to bring heavy rainfall from Texas to Georgia through Tuesday, with some locations expected to receive between one and two inches of rain.

High temperatures and humidity are also expected to persist across parts of the Southeast and the West Coast. Heat index values are forecast to surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit in cities including Raleigh, Savannah and Tallahassee.

On the West Coast, portions of California and the Pacific Northwest remain under heat advisories, with some areas expected to experience daytime temperatures between 95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit through June 16.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov