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NWS Warns of Thunderstorms, Heavy Rainfall in Plains; Hazardous Heat in South, Southeast

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The US National Weather Service said the northern/central Plains are likely to experience severe thunderstorms through Tuesday afternoon, with similar conditions expected in the region stretching from the central Plains to the Mid-Mississippi Valley from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.

The storms could result in large hail, damaging wind gusts, with heavy rainfall also causing potential scattered flash flooding, the agency said.

Meanwhile, the South and Southeast US continues to face hazardous heat.

The NWS issued an extreme heat warning early Tuesday for Oklahoma's Bartlesville, Ponca City, Enid, Stillwater, Tulsa, Chandler, Muskogee, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Chickasha, Ada, MAcAlester, Hugo, Duncan, Atoka, Ardmore, and Durant.

OGE Energy (OGE) unit Oklahoma Gas & Electric and AEP subsidiary Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the major service providers in Oklahoma.

In Texas, a similar warning was raised for Gainesville, Bowie, Decatur, Jacksboro, Graham, Fort Worth, Granbury, Dallas, Cleburne, Stephenville, Waxahachie, Denton, Canton, Emory, Sulphur Springs, Sherman, Paris, and Greenville. These places are primarily served by Sempra Energy (SRE) unit Oncor.

Affected areas in Arkansas include Fort Smith, Russellville, Conway, and Little Rock. These places are primarily served by American Electric Power's (AEP) Southwestern Electric Power Company, and Entergy's (ETR) Arkansas unit.

Extreme heat warnings were also raised for Louisiana's Hammond and New Orleans, served by Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans; Gulfport in Mississippi, where Southern Company (SO) unit Mississippi Power is the major service provider; Mobile in Alabama, served by Southern Company's Alabama Power; and Bainbridge, Valdosta, Hinesville, and Savannah in Georgia, which mostly falls under the service area of Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power.

In Florida, an extreme heat warning was issued for Pensacola, De Funiak Springs, Panama City, Apalachicola, Tallahassee, Marianna, Lake City, Perry, Cross City, Ocala, Lake City, and Jacksonville. Nextera Energy's (NEE) Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy (DUK), and Chesapeake Utilities' (CPK) Florida Public Utilities are the major service providers in these places.

South Carolina's Hilton Head Island, Beaufort, Charleston, Summerville, Moncks Corner, Kingstree, Georgetown, Conway and Myrtle Beach; and North Carolina's Whiteville, Southport, Wilmington, Burgaw, Kenansville, New Bern, Jacksonville, Morehead City and Swan Quarter were also placed under an extreme heat warning watch. The Carolinas primarily fall under the service areas of Dukes Energy and Dominion Energy (D).

The NWS issued an extreme heat warning for Arizona's Kingman, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, Parker, Yuma, Gila Bend, Dateland, Ajo, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Globe, Tucson, Nogales, Sells, Green Valley, Oro Valley, Oracle, San Carlos, Safford, Oracle, Oro Valley, Green Valley, and Grand Canyon Village. Arizona is primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiaries Unisource and Tucson Electric Power.

Nevada's Las Vegas and Beatty, which fall under the service area of Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit NV Energy, were also placed under a similar warning.

Affected areas in California include Blythe, El Centro Imperial, Twentynine Palms, Baker, Death Valley, and Barstow, primarily served by Edison International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison.

Meanwhile, the NWS issued a red flag warning for Oregon's The Dalles, Maupin, Condon, Fossil, Hermiston, Pendleton, and Hood River; and Washington's Walla Walla. These places are primarily service by PacifiCorp's Pacific Power.

In Arizona, an extreme heat warning was raised for Parker, Yuma, Gila Bend, Dateland, Ajo, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Globe, Tucson, Nogales, Sells, Green Valley, Oro Valley, Oracle, San Carlos, and Safford. Arizona is primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company, and UNS Energy subsidiaries Unisource and Tucson Electric Power.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued in Nebraska's Lincoln, Nebraska City and Beatrice. The state mostly falls under the service area of regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.

The NWS issued a flood warning for Illinois' Peru, Canton, Havana, Macomb, Pekin, Danville, Champaign, Ottawa, and areas near Kankakee. Ameren's (AEE) Illinois unit and Exelon (EXC) subsidiary ComEd are among the major service providers in Illinois.

Indiana's Seymour, Terre Haute, Vincennes, Indianapolis, Marion, Muncie, Lafayette, Gary, and Fort Wayne were also covered under a flood warning watch. NiSource (NI) unit Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Duke Energy, and the Indiana unit of AES (AES), AEP unit Indiana Michigan Power, and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Indiana unit are among the major service providers in the state.

Flood warnings were also issued for New Lexington and Zanesville in Iowa; Zanesville in Ohio; and Clarksburg in West Virginia.

Meanwhile, around 77,775 homes and businesses were without power in Hawaii due to the impact of Tropical Storm Lala, according to data from PowerOutage.us early Tuesday.

The NWS had previously warned that Tropical Storm Lala will bring gusty winds, heavy rains, flash flooding, and high surfs even as it moves away from the islands.

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