Menacing storms to rock 1,500-mile stretch from central to eastern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jun 26, 2020 3:58 PM EDT
Severe thunderstorms are set to affect areas along an approximately 1,500-mile-long swath from the central Appalachians to the southern High Plains through Friday night -- and forecasters warn that high winds could leave some areas in the dark to start the weekend as power outages are possible.
This image, taken during Friday midday, June 26, 2020, already revealed developing thunderstorms over parts of the Plains. (NOAA/GOES-East)
The areal coverage of the forecast storm risk includes close to 60 million people in urban, suburban and rural areas.
The greatest threats from the storms will be high winds, large hail and flash flooding.
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gusts of 70 mph can occur with the strongest storms. Winds this strong can knock over trees, break large tree limbs, cause minor property damage and trigger sporadic power outages.
There is the potential for a large complex or two of severe thunderstorms to organize and produce a swath of high winds over an extensive zone of more than 100 miles. When a complex of storms produces continuous damaging winds along a swath of 250 to 400 miles or more, it may be classified as a derecho and up to the scrutiny of local National Weather Service offices.
"While an outbreak of tornadoes is not foreseen with this event, a few tornadoes may occur when the severe thunderstorms first erupt, mainly from eastern Iowa to the southern shores of Lake Michigan," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.
Chicago and Milwaukee lie within a zone facing an enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
A flood advisory was issued for portions of Lake, Cook, DuPage, Kane and De Kalb counties in Illinois on Friday around 6:50 CDT until 9:45 CDT due to heavy rainfall. At 8 p.m. CDT, another flood advisory was issued until 10:45 p.m. CDT, including the south side of Chicago.
Other locations at risk for dangerous, damaging and disruptive weather conditions include Detroit; Denver; Kansas City, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa; Topeka, Kansas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.
Airline passengers and motorists should anticipate weather-related delays as the storms erupt and move along.
Motorists are urged to avoid driving over flooded roadways as water could be much deeper than it appears. Water can also disguise washed away or compromised road surfaces.
Even outside of thunderstorms that turn severe, frequent lightning strikes can threaten those with outdoor plans. A leading expert in the United States with the National Lightning Safety Council, John Jensenius, told AccuWeather's Monica Danielle that if you can hear thunder, then you are at risk for being struck by lightning.
Jensenius said the slogan "when thunder roars, go indoors" can be a helpful reminder, but the first step to staying safe from lightning dangers is to monitor forecasts before heading out and to remain alert to changing weather conditions while outdoors.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Even though the storms may be most active and most intense during the late afternoon and evening hours, some of the storms are forecast to be long-lived and survive well after dark as they advance into portions of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians, the Mississippi Valley and the Plains.
It is possible that thunder from the storms may rattle windows, wake people from their sleep and agitate pets in portions of New York state, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and eastern Colorado during Friday night.
"People in Cleveland, Buffalo and Erie should not let their guard down when no severe thunderstorms occur during the daylight hours as the worst will likely come overnight as violent thunderstorms that are set to erupt over Michigan track eastward," Pydynowski said.
Hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter fell over Black Forest, Colorado, on Friday afternoon. Also within El Paso County, hail 2.50 inches in diameter, the size of tennis balls, barraged the area.
At night, flashes of light from distant thunderstorms can be seen from hundreds of miles away. People can check the AccuWeather app with its radar to see how close the storms are and the direction they are moving relative to their location. AccuWeather MinuteCast® can provide an estimate on the rain's arrival time.
The storms are forecast to shift across the Northeast on Saturday, but where rain falls during late Friday night to Saturday morning, the atmosphere may stabilize and the severe threat may focus farther south in the Appalachians and close to coastal areas in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England as a result.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Severe Weather
Menacing storms to rock 1,500-mile stretch from central to eastern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jun 26, 2020 3:58 PM EDT
Severe thunderstorms are set to affect areas along an approximately 1,500-mile-long swath from the central Appalachians to the southern High Plains through Friday night -- and forecasters warn that high winds could leave some areas in the dark to start the weekend as power outages are possible.
This image, taken during Friday midday, June 26, 2020, already revealed developing thunderstorms over parts of the Plains. (NOAA/GOES-East)
The areal coverage of the forecast storm risk includes close to 60 million people in urban, suburban and rural areas.
The greatest threats from the storms will be high winds, large hail and flash flooding.
AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gusts of 70 mph can occur with the strongest storms. Winds this strong can knock over trees, break large tree limbs, cause minor property damage and trigger sporadic power outages.
There is the potential for a large complex or two of severe thunderstorms to organize and produce a swath of high winds over an extensive zone of more than 100 miles. When a complex of storms produces continuous damaging winds along a swath of 250 to 400 miles or more, it may be classified as a derecho and up to the scrutiny of local National Weather Service offices.
"While an outbreak of tornadoes is not foreseen with this event, a few tornadoes may occur when the severe thunderstorms first erupt, mainly from eastern Iowa to the southern shores of Lake Michigan," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.
Chicago and Milwaukee lie within a zone facing an enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
A flood advisory was issued for portions of Lake, Cook, DuPage, Kane and De Kalb counties in Illinois on Friday around 6:50 CDT until 9:45 CDT due to heavy rainfall. At 8 p.m. CDT, another flood advisory was issued until 10:45 p.m. CDT, including the south side of Chicago.
Other locations at risk for dangerous, damaging and disruptive weather conditions include Detroit; Denver; Kansas City, Missouri; Davenport, Iowa; Topeka, Kansas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.
Related:
Airline passengers and motorists should anticipate weather-related delays as the storms erupt and move along.
Motorists are urged to avoid driving over flooded roadways as water could be much deeper than it appears. Water can also disguise washed away or compromised road surfaces.
Even outside of thunderstorms that turn severe, frequent lightning strikes can threaten those with outdoor plans. A leading expert in the United States with the National Lightning Safety Council, John Jensenius, told AccuWeather's Monica Danielle that if you can hear thunder, then you are at risk for being struck by lightning.
Jensenius said the slogan "when thunder roars, go indoors" can be a helpful reminder, but the first step to staying safe from lightning dangers is to monitor forecasts before heading out and to remain alert to changing weather conditions while outdoors.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Even though the storms may be most active and most intense during the late afternoon and evening hours, some of the storms are forecast to be long-lived and survive well after dark as they advance into portions of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians, the Mississippi Valley and the Plains.
It is possible that thunder from the storms may rattle windows, wake people from their sleep and agitate pets in portions of New York state, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and eastern Colorado during Friday night.
"People in Cleveland, Buffalo and Erie should not let their guard down when no severe thunderstorms occur during the daylight hours as the worst will likely come overnight as violent thunderstorms that are set to erupt over Michigan track eastward," Pydynowski said.
Hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter fell over Black Forest, Colorado, on Friday afternoon. Also within El Paso County, hail 2.50 inches in diameter, the size of tennis balls, barraged the area.
At night, flashes of light from distant thunderstorms can be seen from hundreds of miles away. People can check the AccuWeather app with its radar to see how close the storms are and the direction they are moving relative to their location. AccuWeather MinuteCast® can provide an estimate on the rain's arrival time.
The storms are forecast to shift across the Northeast on Saturday, but where rain falls during late Friday night to Saturday morning, the atmosphere may stabilize and the severe threat may focus farther south in the Appalachians and close to coastal areas in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England as a result.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo