Rain and severe storms to roam the Midwest, East through mid-September
Severe thunderstorms packing damaging winds, hail and a few tornadoes will target the Plains and Midwest into early next week, while heavy rain raises the flash flood risk from the central U.S. to the East Coast.
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As an autumn weather pattern develops across the northern tier of the nation, warm, moisture-rich air from the Gulf and Atlantic will help fuel severe thunderstorms and heavy rain from parts of the Plains to the East Coast.
Severe storms to rattle Plains, Midwest
An active jet stream will help drive storm development, while warm, moist air fuels thunderstorms from portions of the Plains to the Midwest into early next week.
As a front pushes into increasingly warm and humid air, thunderstorms will erupt Friday afternoon and continue into Friday night from northern Kansas to northwestern Ontario. The strongest storms may produce damaging hail, powerful wind gusts and a few tornadoes.
The greatest concentration of severe thunderstorms is expected across central and northern Minnesota.
The severe thunderstorm threat will shift into the central Plains on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon into Saturday night, thunderstorms across central Kansas to southeastern Nebraska, northern Missouri and southern Iowa may produce damaging hail, powerful wind gusts and a few tornadoes. Torrential rainfall may also trigger localized flash flooding.
On Sunday, the severe thunderstorm threat will shift northwestward as a potent storm emerges from the northern Rockies.
Severe thunderstorms from eastern Colorado to much of Nebraska and South Dakota may produce damaging hail and powerful wind gusts Sunday afternoon and night. Repeated downpours may also cause localized flash flooding.
On Monday, the severe thunderstorm threat will expand eastward from northeastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska into northwestern Missouri, much of Iowa and southern Minnesota.
"The severe storms from Sunday to Monday could have the potential to produce multiple tornadoes," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. "This looks like a strong storm system with lots of jet stream energy."
The storm will also pull colder air into parts of the northern Rockies and northern Plains.
The storm will bring chilly air and snow to the higher elevations of Idaho and Montana later this weekend. As it moves eastward, drenching rain will spread across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.
Drenching rain will spread from the southern Canadian Prairies into parts of Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin from Sunday night through Monday night.
“While the storm may cause localized flash flooding in areas that have received frequent rain this summer, it could ease drought and wildfire concerns where rain has been scarce,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. “Where rain persists, temperatures may remain in the 60s and perhaps even the 50s.”
Another round of drenching rain may develop farther south and spread from west to east from the central part of the Plains to near Lake Erie during the middle of next week.
Tracking a storm in the East
After a period of drying weather through Friday night, moisture and the risk of downpours will return to the Northeast this weekend.
A front approaching from the Midwest will interact with moisture and a disturbance moving northward from the Gulf, producing areas of rain and thunderstorms across the Eastern states from Saturday into Sunday.
On Saturday night, the heaviest rain and greatest risk of flash flooding will extend from northern Maryland and Delaware through Pennsylvania and New Jersey into southeastern New York.
On Sunday, the zone of heavy rain will expand eastward into southern and central New England.
Elsewhere, a cold front may trigger heavy, gusty and locally severe thunderstorms from northern Ohio to southern Quebec on Sunday afternoon and evening.
On Monday, high pressure settling over the Northeast will bring rain-free conditions to most areas. Showers and thunderstorms may linger along the southern Atlantic coast.
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