Flash flooding and severe thunderstorms to span from the Plains to the East Coast
Multiple rounds of thunderstorms will bring risks for severe weather and flash flooding this week.
Heavy rain and flash flooding created hazardous road conditions for several states on July 19.
Along the periphery of an expansive heat dome across the southern United States that is set to bring stifling heat to millions, a weather pattern conducive for drenching thunderstorms has set up across a zone spanning from the Plains and Midwest to the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic states in the days to come.
Fueled in part by a former tropical rainstorm that brought flooding rainfall to portions of Louisiana last week, the thunderstorm activity through early this week will tap into an ample amount of moisture that is available. This risk had already come to fruition Saturday morning as a powerful complex of thunderstorms brought damaging wind gusts and flash flooding to portions of Iowa and Illinois. Flash flooding occurred as far to the northeast as the Washington, D.C., area.
Drenching thunderstorms from Sunday have continued into early Monday morning across central Missouri and southern Illinois. Areas in and around St. Louis, Missouri, saw rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour. Flooding will likely continue into Monday afternoon, resulting in delays and potentially dangerous conditions for the commute.
Across west-central Minnesota, thunderstorm activity can also feature risks for hail and damaging winds into Monday morning.
Tallying up the expected rainfall from this past weekend into early this week, a wide swath of 2 inches or more of rainfall is expected across the Midwest, Appalachians and mid-Atlantic. Within this zone, the potential for 4-8 inches of rain is possible in places from northeastern Missouri to far southern West Virginia. In the hardest-hit zones, rainfall totals can approach the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 13 inches.
"Much of West Virginia is experiencing its top 35 wettest July so far. As the front slips south into Monday, repetitive thunderstorms producing torrential rainfall will line up in narrow stripes of real estate across central and western West Virginia. These thunderstorms, when combined with a moist ground from recent rain and the varying topography, can unleash significant flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill explained.
Rainfall of this magnitude can lead to widespread high water and flooding issues across the aforementioned regions through Monday, some of which may even become life-threatening. As always, it is important to have a plan of action in the event of flooding and to have the means of receiving warnings, especially at night.
The risk for severe weather is not expected to ease heading into this week either, as the heat dome remains in place, providing an endless supply of fuel for thunderstorm activity. On Monday, the Plains will once again be the focal point for severe activity, then the risk can shift into the Midwest by Tuesday.
Within this time frame and through a majority of this week, the potential for high-end complexes of thunderstorms that can feature damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding downpours remains possible.
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