Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Increasing flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Click for details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

77°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

77°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
3
Severe Thunderstorm Warning

News / Severe Weather

Rounds of severe weather to strike central US into the weekend

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published May 21, 2020 11:13 AM EDT

Copied

NOTE: This story is no longer being updated. For the latest severe weather story, updates and coverage in the Plains this weekend, click here.

The central United States is getting active with severe weather once again, with rounds of thunderstorms anticipated into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The return of a more stormy pattern kicked off at midweek, with violent storms breaking out from eastern Montana to northern Colorado. A separate batch of severe weather fired up across West Texas late Wednesday.

On Thursday, the violent storms shifted slightly farther south and east, with over one dozen preliminary tornadoes reported in southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas. There were no reported injuries.

Tornado warned supercell Sublette Kansas #kswx @MyRadarWX pic.twitter.com/LGS5SstDHA

— Aaron Jayjack (@aaronjayjack) May 22, 2020

Hail up to 4 inches in diameter fell over San Angelo, Texas, just after 7:45 p.m. CDT Thursday, according to a report from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. Baseball-sized hail was also reported in Kendall, Kansas.

Locally severe thunderstorms fired up again early on Friday, bringing dime-sized hail in Davis, Kansas and wind gusts as high as 81 mph across central Oklahoma.

7:00 AM - Several places saw very strong damaging winds overnight. @okmesonet stations measured wind gusts to 81 mph at Marshall, 73 mph at Lahoma, 71 mph at Perkins, and 64 mph at Red Rock. #okwx pic.twitter.com/QVkUILyJ7r

— NWS Norman (@NWSNorman) May 22, 2020

Into Friday evening, the area at risk will expand farther east to encompass portions of southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, central and eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and northern and central Texas, including Dallas.

Similar to prior days this week, all modes of severe weather will be possible. Two tornadoes were reported in Texas on Friday just before 7:30 p.m. CDT in Clay County, according to the National Weather Service. As of 9 p.m. CDT Friday, no injuries have been reported.

Amazing tornado encounter earlier near Bellevue, TX. #txwx @NWSFortWorth pic.twitter.com/IpxNvpQMcw

— Matt Coker (@StormCoker) May 23, 2020

AccuWeather meteorologists anticipate another period of severe weather to ramp back up for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

"As a piece of energy moves northeastward out of the Rockies and moisture moves northward on Saturday, severe weather will be possible," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said. "Development of thunderstorms is most likely by the mid- to late-afternoon hours."

The greatest concentration of storms are forecast to erupt across western South Dakota and western Nebraska and then move east-northeastward.

On Friday evening, a tornado was reported in Nebraska by the NWS's Storm Prediction Center. The NWS reported a brief touchdown in Barneston in Gage County.

"The most likely threat will initially be large hail," Adamson said. "However, as the storms become more of a cluster, damaging winds will become more of a risk, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph."

Related:

Ideal weather conditions may have helped coronavirus thrive initially, study suggests
New research reveals the odds of life evolving on alien worlds
‘Dome of heat’ to threaten many record highs across western US next week

Farther south, from western Kansas to western Oklahoma and perhaps western Texas, along an advancing zone of dry air, thunderstorms will be more isolated in nature, but probably every bit as intense as the storms farther north.

Since the day is likely to start out dry with sunshine across these areas, residents will need to make sure they stay aware of the weather throughout the day, especially if they are spending any time outdoors. As soon as you hear thunder, see lightning or spot tall, darkening clouds, head indoors and away from windows.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

There could also be a third area of concern on Saturday, from eastern Iowa into northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. "A disturbance will move along a warm front in the region during the afternoon, creating a narrow corridor where intense storms could fire up," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.

"In this type of set up, the area of concern can be relatively small, making it difficult to pin down, but within the small area, storms can be very intense, bringing all modes of severe weather."

"The greater Chicago aware will have to stay 'weather aware' later Saturday afternoon," cautioned AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg.

"So far this year through May 19, there have been 640 preliminary reports of tornadoes. This is just below the average of 659 reports for the same date," Adamson said.

Torrential downpours are likely regardless of the severity of the storms, which could cause driving difficulties in the form of reduced visibility and a heightened risk of hydroplaning on stretches of interstates 29, 80 and 90.

Heading into Sunday and Memorial Day, the Central states are likely to remain the focal point of stormy weather, which is not good news for those with cookouts and other outdoor activities planned for the unofficial start to summer.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 12, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew into next week

Jul. 12, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

52 minutes ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

5 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

6 hours ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

3 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

54 minutes ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

1 day ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

1 day ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

1 day ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Severe Weather Rounds of severe weather to strike central US into the weekend
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...