Millions face repeated rounds of severe weather in central, eastern US
AccuWeather forecasters warn that waves of volatile weather will threaten storm-weary parts of the central and eastern U.S. into next week.
Tens of millions of people from the Midwest to the East will be at risk for severe weather on a daily basis into early next week as a hyperactive pattern for August continues to produce one potent storm system after another, AccuWeather meteorologists say. A storm slated for early next week could be a standout from the remaining systems in the bunch.
Each storm system and the areas of severe weather and heavy rain it produces will disrupt travel and outdoor plans. Some of the most potent thunderstorms and flash flooding will still pose a risk to lives and property at a local level.
Severe weather to pivot across Midwest to end the week
Farther west, a storm system and severe weather maker will roll southeastward over the north-central United States through Friday.
The next storm system is not expected to produce a significant severe weather outbreak, but it will still trigger downpours and severe thunderstorms across the Midwest, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
AccuWeather meteorologists have outlined a moderate risk of severe weather each day through Saturday as the storm system moves along.
Following a round of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms that moved through the eastern part of the Dakotas and northeastern Nebraska to western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa into Thursday night, thunderstorms may reach a peak on Friday afternoon and evening from southeastern Minnesota to northwestern Illinois. The severe thunderstorm risk will extend as far to the east as southern Michigan and far northwestern Ohio on Friday.
On Saturday, the severe weather risk will advance eastward to encompass more than a dozen states from New England to the Ohio Valley. The storms may not be as widespread compared to Friday but could still endanger lives and property at the local level.
In addition to sudden lightning strikes, the main threat from the severe thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday will be due to locally damaging wind gusts that can knock over trees, block roads and trigger power outages. Where downpours persist, flash flooding of streets, low-lying areas and small streams can occur.
Severe weather early next week may pack a punch
One of the reasons the storm system from Friday to Saturday may not be very intense is that a much stronger storm system will likely eye the Midwest and Northeast early next week, according to Anderson.
"When there is a train of storms, it is common for a stronger system to take away some of the energy from the preceding storm," Anderson explained.
AccuWeather meteorologists say a storm will drop onto the northern Plains and part of the Upper Midwest on Sunday. However, as the storm moves along across the Great Lakes region early next week, it may strengthen significantly.
Thunderstorms will erupt and become severe over Iowa, southern Minnesota, the eastern parts of South Dakota and Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, northern Missouri and the western parts of Illinois and Wisconsin from Sunday to Sunday night.
Monday has the potential to be a big day in terms of severe weather as thunderstorms shift eastward across portions of the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley.
How intense the thunderstorms are in parts of the Northeast will depend on the timing, Anderson said. Should the storms roll through at night in some areas, they may be reduced to non-severe weather, but where the storms occur during the late afternoon and early evening hours, they are more likely to be severe at least at the local level from Monday to Tuesday.
Because of the intensity of the upcoming storm system early next week, all modes of severe weather may be possible, ranging from high winds and flash flooding to large hail and even a few tornadoes.
At this time, the most likely zone for severe thunderstorms on Monday will stretch from western Pennsylvania to southern Michigan, middle Tennessee and western Kentucky.
As a pocket of Canadian air pours in behind the storm system early next week, the combination of cool air and warm Great Lakes waters may set off multiple waterspouts. Many of these whirlwinds over water will be harmless, but they can pose a threat to small craft.
AccuWeather meteorologists urge people with outdoor and travel plans to keep alert for severe weather watches and warnings.
Might there be a break from the storms soon?
Even though the storm system early next week is not likely to be the caboose in the train of storm systems and rounds of severe weather, it may mark the start of a change in the weather pattern.
"It looks like the jet stream will retreat northward during mid- to late August and that should allow heat or at least much warmer conditions to expand from Texas to more of the Midwest and the East," AccuWeather Senior Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.
Should that change in the jet stream pattern take place, it would result in less-frequent thunderstorm activity in the Midwest and the East, compared to much of the summer so far.
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