OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma — The Day 2 Categorical Outlook issued at 4:58 PM CDT Saturday, September 19, 2026 and valid from noon Sunday, September 20 through noon Monday, September 21, 2026 shows two distinct Slight Risk zones targeting the central High Plains and portions of Oklahoma, with a broad Enhanced Risk corridor stretching from the central Plains eastward through the Mid-Atlantic and a wide Marginal Risk zone covering additional areas from the Southeast through the Northeast. If you live anywhere from Oklahoma through the central Plains or across the central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic, Sunday carries a real severe weather risk that demands attention.
The Sunday, September 20, 2026 outlook features two distinct Slight Risk zones that are geographically separate from each other:
- The northern Slight Risk zone is centered over the central High Plains, positioned over what appears to be portions of Kansas and Colorado based on the geographic location of the yellow zone on the outlook map. This zone is consistent with the Colorado Front Range upslope storm threat and the Kansas severe weather environment developing Sunday afternoon.
- The southern Slight Risk zone is centered over portions of Oklahoma, consistent with the central and eastern Oklahoma threat for damaging wind gusts described in the broader Sunday severe weather setup. Oklahoma City and Tulsa are directly within this Slight Risk zone based on the geographic positioning on the Sunday, September 20 outlook map.
The Enhanced Risk Corridor: From the Plains Through the Mid-Atlantic
Surrounding both Slight Risk zones is a broad Enhanced Risk zone, shown in dark green, that stretches in a long band from the central Plains eastward through the Tennessee Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic coast. This Enhanced Risk corridor covers a large population footprint and represents the area where numerous severe storms are possible with multiple storm types through Sunday afternoon and evening into the early hours of Monday, September 21, 2026. The corridor appears to cover portions of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia based on the geographic band shown on the outlook map.
Marginal Risk Covers the Southeast and Northeast Sunday
The Marginal Risk zone, representing isolated severe storm potential, covers additional broad areas on the Sunday, September 20 outlook map:
- A large Marginal Risk zone covers much of the Southeast, including portions of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina on the Sunday outlook map.
- A separate Marginal Risk area is visible across portions of the Northeast on the eastern edge of the Sunday, September 20 outlook, extending the severe weather risk footprint to a very large geographic area through noon Monday, September 21, 2026.
- The broader Marginal Risk zone to the north covers portions of the northern Plains and upper Midwest on the Sunday outlook, reflecting the widespread atmospheric instability present across much of the country during this period.
What Sunday Looks Like From Zone to Zone
For residents across the affected areas on Sunday, September 20, 2026, here is how the threat breaks down by location:
- In Oklahoma and the central High Plains, the Slight Risk designation means scattered severe storms are expected with meaningful coverage of damaging winds and hail. These are the most serious locations on today’s map and residents there should have weather alerts active all day Sunday.
- In the Enhanced Risk corridor stretching from the Plains through the Mid-Atlantic, numerous severe storms are possible throughout Sunday and the risk is broad enough to affect a very large number of communities across multiple states simultaneously.
- In the Marginal Risk zones across the Southeast and Northeast, isolated severe storms are possible but the overall coverage is lower. Still worth monitoring but not the primary concern zones for Sunday, September 20, 2026.
