Severe storms to rumble over parts of US Plains into the weekend

Thunderstorms caused disruptions over part of the Great Plains into Friday night, and some locally gusty and drenching storms will persist into the weekend.

While an outbreak of severe weather is not anticipated, thunderstorms will be on the prowl over the Great Plains into this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

A zone of severe weather extended over much of the Great Plains region on Friday. These thunderstorms brought numerous reports of damaging wind gusts and hail from western South Dakota to the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, including a preliminary report of a 90-mph wind gust near Hereford, South Dakota, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

On Saturday, the most likely zone of strong to severe thunderstorms will focus from far southeastern Wyoming and southwestern Nebraska to northern Texas. Any thunderstorm in this zone can pack strong winds, hail and flash flooding.

Where the storms linger long enough, some easement of drought conditions can occur locally. Similarly where downpours repeat over several hours, which is most likely over the weekend, flash flooding can occur.

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The uptick in thunderstorm activity will hold daytime temperatures back, but the humidity will remain elevated.

Since the system is so slow-moving, it may take until early next week for showers and thunderstorms to approach Chicago. The next chance of rain in the midwestern metropolis is not until Monday.

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