Flooding, severe weather to linger in north-central US through early next week
First responders rescued a father and a son from the Menomonee River in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, on Aug. 11 after they jumped into the water to save their dog.
A stormy pattern will bring more rounds of severe weather to part of the central United States into the start of the new week, raising the risk of flooding, and damage to lives and property.
Storms could reignite on Saturday night in a similar area where they initially developed earlier in the weekend. The long-lived complex of storms that started on Friday night plowed through Minnesota on Satuday morning and caused a 62-mph wind gust at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
More severe weather Sunday
Even as storms initially weaken late Saturday night and Sunday morning, new thunderstorms are likely to develop farther to the east later on Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. There will be a few differences between the storms to start the weekend and the storms on Sunday.
Some of the strongest storms on Sunday could produce tornadoes. During the day, the most likely area for any tornadoes appears to be in northeastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. That threat may extend farther eastward into south-central and southeastern Minnesota and even western Wisconsin by Sunday night. Those storms should begin to diminish later Sunday night.
Another difference on Sunday will be a larger expanse of real estate with the risk for severe weather, stretching from southern Saskatchewan into the Midwest.
Severe risk continues into Monday
By Monday, cooler and drier air will work into the High Plains and portions of the Midwest. While some of the same areas will again have a risk of severe storms, the general area will shift farther to the south.
"There is very little tornado risk on Monday, but thunderstorms can be severe with localized damaging winds and hail," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Peyton Simmers.
Multiple rounds of storms to also raise flooding risk
With some areas having several consecutive days of thunderstorms, the ground will become saturated. Even where only one or two storms occur, any individual storm can contain very heavy rain and the risk for flash flooding. This is what happened last Saturday night and early Sunday morning in Milwaukee when more than six inches of rain fell in a matter of hours.
"Repeated rounds of thunderstorms will create instances of flash flooding, poor visibility and travel disruptions," cautioned Simmers.
Farther east, the rain might be welcome.
"Grand Rapids, Michigan, is enduring its seventh-driest summer on record so far with 5.70 inches of rain. While rain is not going to end the drought, it will at least help to dampen the top layer of the soil for a few days," said Senior AccuWeather Meteorologist Chad Merrill.
Pattern change on the way
By Tuesday and especially Wednesday, the Midwest is likely to have a break from the persistent rain and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms will move farther to the south and east and cooler and drier air will infiltrate much of the Midwest and Great Lakes.
"A Canadian high pressure will funnel a much cooler air mass into the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley from Tuesday into Thursday, allowing Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa to dry out from the recent spate of rain," explained Merrill.
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