Severe storms to rattle, drench central US into midweek

As a cool front cuts into warm and humid air over the central United States into midweek, storms will erupt and turn severe leading to disruptions for travel pose and danger for those spending time outdoors.

The same storm system that drenched the northwestern United States from Sunday to Monday will trigger severe thunderstorms Tuesday from the Upper Midwest to the southern Plains and Wednesday farther to the east from the eastern Great Lakes to the southern Appalachians and the lower Mississippi Valley, AccuWeather meteorologists foretell.

Much of the thunderstorm activity will occur along and ahead of an advancing cool front, which is rare to see progressing through the Southern states in June.

Different modes of severe weather will extend from north to south across the Central states into Tuesday night, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

"In the northern portion, from Minnesota and northern Iowa to Wisconsin and northern Illinois, the storms will gather to form a solid line featuring strong wind gusts, some hail and brief downpours," Pydynowski explained, "In the southern portion, from eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas to Arkansas and northern Louisiana, thunderstorms may organize into one or more clusters that produce locally heavy rainfall, gusty winds and hail. Should a large complex of storms form in this area, where it is most likely, a long swath of damaging winds may result that extends through Tuesday night."

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In between and well ahead of both areas, individual thunderstorms can become severe locally. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust for the thunderstorms is 85 mph. Any of the thunderstorms could produce a couple of brief, isolated tornadoes into Tuesday evening.

As the cold front continues to advance Wednesday, more thunderstorms will erupt during the daytime heat farther to the east and south.

On Wednesday, the risk of severe thunderstorms will extend from southeastern Michigan to southern Ontario and western New York to the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as northeastern Arkansas.

The main threats from the storms from Wednesday to Wednesday night will be strong wind gusts averaging 50-60 mph, hail and flooding downpours. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust for the thunderstorms is 75 mph.

Should the speed of the front increase, then robust thunderstorms may physically cross the central and southern Appalachians rather than diminish to showers and spotty thunderstorms later Wednesday night to Thursday morning.

As the storms move into a major metro area, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may issue ground stops. Motorists should be prepared for quick-changing weather conditions where dry roads can become torrents of water in a matter of minutes.

As a mass of cool air drops southeastward across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast from Thursday to Friday, a mosaic of showers will develop during the midday and afternoon hours. A few of these will evolve into thunderstorms that could produce localized small hail and gusty winds.

The air behind the front will be cooler and less humid than the air in front and will offer a refreshing change, especially for some people in the South Central and Southeast states, which is uncommon during June.

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