Multiday outbreak of severe storms, including large tornadoes, on tap for central US this week
One of the most active days of severe weather so far this season is ahead for the upper Midwest early this week, including a risk of strong, long-tracked tornadoes.
AccuWeather’s Severe Weather Expert Guy Pearson reports on the building storms in the Midwest that are expected to bring strong wind gusts and hail.
A daily risk for severe weather will continue to unfold across the nation's heartland through the final days of April, featuring storms with very large hail, destructive winds and even strong tornadoes.
The threat will peak Monday afternoon and night in the Upper Midwest, with AccuWeather severe weather experts warning there is a rare "high risk" for severe storms, complete with the potential for an outbreak of large and destructive tornadoes.
Large hail and damaging wind in the northern Plains to end the weekend
The onslaught of severe weather has actually been going on for days now in the western High Plains, with daily reports of monster hail, damaging winds and tornadoes dating back to Thursday. The end of the weekend will featured more of the same in this region.
Deadly hailstones as large as apples (3 inches in diameter), wind gusts as high as 75 mph and an isolated tornado occurred in very confined areas of northwestern Nebraska into far southwestern South Dakota Sunday into Sunday night. For many in this zone, Sunday and Sunday night's severe weather threat finally marked the end of seemingly relentless damaging storms, as the threat area will shift east for the start of the new week.
Severe outbreak expected Monday in Upper Midwest
As a storm pushes across the Plains and into a warm, more humid air in place over the Midwest, nature's fireworks will commence ad continue into Monday night. AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that this could be one of the most active 12-18 hours of severe weather so far this season, with a "high risk" for severe weather in place.
“Strong thunderstorms will be enhanced by a fast-moving jet stream," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alexander Duffus. "That will lend support for the potential of a few intense tornadoes across the region.”
The region most at risk for this dangerous weather includes millions and stretches from Iowa into southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin, including the metropolitan areas of Des Moines, Iowa, and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Travel by air and by road will be impacted by these storms.
"Some of the tornadoes expected into Monday night can be long-lived," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Elizabeth Danco. "This will pose a serious risk, particularly with those that develop after dark when they are more difficult to detect and prepare for."
Residents and businesses in the region, especially the high risk area, should have a plan in place should a tornado warning be issued, especially after dark. The AccuWeather App will provide alerts to your cell phone in the event of severe weather.
“Not only will these thunderstorms be capable of producing tornadoes," added Duffus, "but also large hail and widespread damaging winds from Minnesota and Wisconsin through Iowa and northern Missouri.”
While the severe weather and tornado threat will begin to wane late Monday night, storms could reach close to Chicago by the predawn hours of Tuesday morning. Regardless of their severity, downpours could slow the morning commute.
The risk of damaging storms will continue through midweek
Monday's potential outbreak of tornadoes will not mark the end of the current episode of severe storms. The risk will shift toward the east and south by Tuesday through Thursday, impacting millions more.
On Tuesday, along and ahead of a cold front, the prospect for damaging storms will extend as far east as the Ohio Valley and interior Northeast. Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are among the cities that will experience this risk, if only for a day.
Meanwhile, an area that has been no stranger to feisty storms as of late, from western and northern Texas into Oklahoma, can get back into the action again into Tuesday night.
While the risk for tornadoes will be lower compared to Monday and Monday night farther west, storms can still pack a punch, containing hail, flooding downpours and gusty winds.
Yet more days of severe weather can unfold Wednesday and Thursday. Areas from the heart of Texas, north to Oklahoma and east into parts of Arkansas and Louisiana will be at risk for strong storms midweek as a frontal boundary settles over the region, providing a focal point for thunderstorm formation. By Thursday, the risk will shift again to the east, closer to the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys.
For those weary residents tired of dealing with this near-daily spat of severe thunderstorms, better days are ahead in early May, as a quieter weather pattern is expected to take hold. While the risk for damaging storms will not be zero, it will be lower, with only a few gusty and drenching storms expected to shift toward the East Coast by Friday.
While the severe storm threat will lower, there may be an increased risk for flooding, including near the swollen Mississippi River.
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