Plains face heavy, locally damaging storms through Sunday
A strengthening storm and returning warmth will trigger pockets of severe thunderstorms from New Mexico to North Dakota, with the primary threats being from damaging winds and large hail.
Security camera footage from this home in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, shows the intense moment a lightning bolt struck this tree, causing it to explode with fire, bark and flying debris on Sept. 9.
Warmth that built up over the Plains this past week will clash with an emerging storm from the Rockies, causing an eruption of locally severe thunderstorms across the Plains through the weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
A strong jet stream will provide thunderstorms with added energy, raising the risk of damaging wind gusts at ground level. A limiting factor for widespread severe thunderstorms may be the amount of moisture available. For now, humidity levels have only bounced back to moderate levels, unlike during mid- to late spring, when conditions tend to become very humid during a severe weather setup.
Only a limited number of severe storms are expected, but they may still pose risks to lives and property from eastern New Mexico and parts of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles to the Dakotas.
On Saturday afternoon and night, threats will include damaging wind gusts and large hail. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ for wind gusts is 75 mph.
The risk of severe weather is forecast to extend slightly eastward on Sunday, affecting portions of Minnesota and Iowa, as well as the Dakotas and Nebraska once again.
While the risk of tornadoes is low with this setup, as with some severe thunderstorms, a few brief tornadoes can form over the span of several days.
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