Plains Moderate Risk Widespread

UPDATE: 8 PM CENTRAL: Eight tornadoes have been reported in South Dakota, along with 1.75" diameter hail and winds to 70 mph, blowing over a tractor trailer on I-80. Five Tornado Watches are in effect and over 100 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings have gone out. Below is a composite of 4-hour lightning strikes, showing the tracks of the storms from the Dakotas into Minnesota.

- (AccuWeather.com Professional)

- (AccuWeather.com LightningPlus)

- (AccuWeather.com Professional)

- (AccuWeather.com LightningPlus)

StormMatrix Stats Box:

ORIGINAL POST:

What we're looking at this evening, as I said yesterday, is a large-scale severe weather outbreak like you'd see in Spring. Keep an eye on the WeatherMatrixStormMatrix Stats Box above to keep up with the numbers.

NOAA's [JessePedia] headline for today's severe weather outbreak reads:

That's pretty simple, but pretty dire. As of this writing, severe storms were breaking out in South Dakota, where the first Tornado Watch of the day has been issued.

Access our Local Radars (PREMIUM | PRO) to see the storms. NOTE: The Sioux Falls, South Dakota radar was out for service, with the last (typo-ridden) update from NOAA at 6 AM Eastern Time, saying "FSD 88d radar will be down fro maintance from 1145z to 1215z."