Severe Weather Tonight: Texas to Iowa, Illinois
A strengthening storm tracking toward Michigan will continue to spark violent thunderstorms before the weekend comes to a close.
Severe thunderstorms, some capable of spawning tornadoes, are already erupting across the central and southern Plains with more to follow as tonight progresses.
The risk of damaging and life-threatening storms remains high through this evening across central Texas, central and eastern Oklahoma, central and eastern Kansas, northern and western Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Nebraska, Iowa and northwestern Illinois.
According to Severe Weather Expert Henry Margusity, "The potential from the storms spans the complete arsenal of violent weather ranging from large hail and flash flooding to damaging straight-line wind gusts and tornadoes."
One severe thunderstorm from earlier today downed power lines and a store's sign in Altus, Okla.
Cities that could be hit by violent thunderstorms into this evening include Omaha, Des Moines, Rockford, Kansas City, Joplin, Fayetteville, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Wichita.
College and high school football games are only a handful of the activities that could be impacted by the severe weather threat.
Late tonight, the severe weather danger will shift eastward to Chicago, St. Louis, Little Rock and Shreveport.
The risk of storms with strong wind gusts and torrential downpours will then continue into the latter part of the weekend.
Over portions of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, strong wind gusts, with and without thunder, are a possibility as a cool front plows eastward during Sunday. Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Cincinnati, Columbus and Detroit could experience squalls capable of knocking down tree limbs and power lines.
Farther south, locally drenching thunderstorms may affect portions of central and northeastern Texas to part of the lower Mississippi Valley Sunday.
The pattern shaping up into this weekend is a classic example of the secondary severe weather season that occurs during autumn.
More Weather News
-
Live Blog: Tornado Touches Down South of Oklahoma City
May 20, 2013; 3:40 PM ET
The latest updates on the severe weather stretching from Oklahoma to Minnesota spawning large hail, strong winds and dangerous tornadoes.
-
Local Radar: Tracking the Severe Storm Outbreak
May 20, 2013; 3:40 PM ET
Keep up to date on the severe thunderstorm outbreak unfolding across the Midwest and the Plains by tracking local radars.
-
Summerlike Tuesday in DC, Philadelphia, New York
May 20, 2013; 3:34 PM ET
Rising temperatures and humidity across the mid-Atlantic will have it feeling like the end of June.
-
Heavy Rain Dumps on Carolinas, Virginia
May 20, 2013; 3:30 PM ET
Slow-moving showers and storms will bring heavy rain and flooding potential.
-
Renewed River Flood Threat for Northern Plains
May 20, 2013; 3:14 PM ET
Heavy rain returning to the northern Plains will generate a renewed flood threat for the Red River.
-
Sunday Reports: Tornadoes Touch Down From Oklahoma to Iowa
May 20, 2013; 3:06 PM ET
More than 20 tornadoes were reported by the National Weather Service with hundreds of hail and wind reports Sunday afternoon through Sunday night.
Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | N/A | |
| Low | N/A | |
| Precip | N/A |
WeatherWhys®
This Day In Weather History
Ft. Myers, FL (1985)
A hospital and several homes were evacuated
due to brush fires.
Patuxent River, MD (1996)
100 degrees.
Southern Ohio (1814)
Tornado left only 1 of 1,000 trees standing
in its two-mile wide path.
Rough Weather
AccuWeather.com
Custom Search
Comments
Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.