Menacing complex of storms to bring flash flood risk to central US
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jun 8, 2022 7:58 AM EDT
|
Updated Jun 9, 2022 3:56 PM EDT
A damaging tornado formed early in the morning on June 8, while it was still dark, creating an eerie scene outside.
Severe thunderstorms with downpours, damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes have frequented the central United States this week, and although portions of the region caught a brief break on Wednesday, AccuWeather forecasters say a new threat of severe weather will take place through Thursday night.
The risk of severe thunderstorms will shift back to the central Plains on Thursday with storms that are forecast to be more potent than what fired up on Wednesday across portions of the Southern and Eastern states.
The strongest storms are predicted to track along a corridor that stretches from southwestern Nebraska to northwestern Arkansas.
"With such a persistent pattern in place, heavy rain and flash flooding have become an increasing concern, especially across central and southeastern Kansas, which has been the focal point of thunderstorms," AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Michael Stahlman cautioned.
Flood watches were in effect for parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas on Thursday afternoon.
Two complexes of damaging thunderstorms producing destructive winds and flash flooding are expected to form late Thursday and Thursday evening. One across southeastern Colorado and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma can move toward Oklahoma City overnight.
A second region of severe thunderstorms is expected to develop across Nebraska and race southeast across Kansas including the city of Wichita and then into Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by Friday morning.
Storms on Thursday will also carry the risk of intense winds and isolated tornadoes.
Motorists are reminded never to drive over a flooded road since flooding can cause the road to be washed away below the water. The dangers of flooding are hardest to see at night, but an alternate route should be taken at any time of day when flooding is encountered.
By Friday, the risk of severe weather will shift farther south and east to target portions of the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast.
"The risk of storms on Friday will actually be a continuation of the storms that develop through Thursday night," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
"It's likely that a complex of damaging storms gets going by Thursday night, and this complex rolls through portions of the Mississippi Valley on Friday," Gilbert explained.
Given the projected speed of this complex, it will likely push off the coast by later in the day Friday, effectively ending the threat of severe weather in the region.
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Thursday's threat comes after several days of severe weather across portions of the Central states. Earlier this week, storms produced all kinds of severe weather in portions of the Plains and Rockies.
"Wind gusts over 80 mph, very large hail upward of 3 inches in diameter and isolated tornadoes were all observed from Tuesday to Tuesday night," said Stahlman.
Hail was large enough to break car windshields and damage homes. In far eastern Colorado near the Kansas state line, one side of a mobile home had its siding ripped off by 2-inch-diameter hail. Hailstones larger than baseballs were measured in Hazard, Nebraska, located in the middle of the state.
After midnight, a line of storms barreled through the Kansas City area with a wind gust of 61 mph recorded at Kansas City International Airport. A possible tornado was also reported just to the southwest of the city.
Severe thunderstorms continued to roar southward into early Wednesday morning, impacting portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas. Early Wednesday, a wind gust of 72 mph was recorded in Amarillo, Texas, as storms tore through the area. Feisty storms continued to impact Oklahoma and northern Texas on Wednesday afternoon.
The risk of severe weather on Wednesday also began to shift farther east by the early afternoon. At approximately 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, a tornado touched down in Indiana, causing damage to a host of homes in Arlington, Indiana. Roughly 90 minutes later, the threats moved even farther east, with a tornado dropping on Darke County, Ohio, in the late afternoon. About 30 miles east of Darke County, another tornado formed near Troy, Ohio, with some reports of damage as of 6:10 p.m. EDT.
The threats in Ohio continued into Wednesday evening, with a large tornado hitting near Tipp City around 6:22 p.m. EDT. The event brought major harm to a building, with an unconfirmed report that it hit a Meijer Distribution Center in the area.
Rounds of storms this week were aided by a heat dome and northward bulge in the jet stream.
"A strengthening heat dome in the Southwest has expanded across much of Texas and Oklahoma," Stahlman said. "On the northern edge of this heat dome, there have been disturbances in the jet stream which have aided in the development and strengthening of clusters of thunderstorms."
Thunderstorms tend to track along the northern edge of heat domes, which has set up some parts of the central U.S. for multiple rounds of thunderstorms over the last several days.
The northward bulge in the jet stream responsible for the heat in the Southwest is expected to expand northeastward this weekend. The change in the pattern will allow for several dry days in the central and southern Plains. The drier regime can even continue into next week, with storms more likely to be focused farther to the north in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
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News / Severe Weather
Menacing complex of storms to bring flash flood risk to central US
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jun 8, 2022 7:58 AM EDT | Updated Jun 9, 2022 3:56 PM EDT
A damaging tornado formed early in the morning on June 8, while it was still dark, creating an eerie scene outside.
Severe thunderstorms with downpours, damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes have frequented the central United States this week, and although portions of the region caught a brief break on Wednesday, AccuWeather forecasters say a new threat of severe weather will take place through Thursday night.
The risk of severe thunderstorms will shift back to the central Plains on Thursday with storms that are forecast to be more potent than what fired up on Wednesday across portions of the Southern and Eastern states.
The strongest storms are predicted to track along a corridor that stretches from southwestern Nebraska to northwestern Arkansas.
"With such a persistent pattern in place, heavy rain and flash flooding have become an increasing concern, especially across central and southeastern Kansas, which has been the focal point of thunderstorms," AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Michael Stahlman cautioned.
Flood watches were in effect for parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas on Thursday afternoon.
Two complexes of damaging thunderstorms producing destructive winds and flash flooding are expected to form late Thursday and Thursday evening. One across southeastern Colorado and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma can move toward Oklahoma City overnight.
A second region of severe thunderstorms is expected to develop across Nebraska and race southeast across Kansas including the city of Wichita and then into Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by Friday morning.
Storms on Thursday will also carry the risk of intense winds and isolated tornadoes.
Motorists are reminded never to drive over a flooded road since flooding can cause the road to be washed away below the water. The dangers of flooding are hardest to see at night, but an alternate route should be taken at any time of day when flooding is encountered.
By Friday, the risk of severe weather will shift farther south and east to target portions of the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast.
"The risk of storms on Friday will actually be a continuation of the storms that develop through Thursday night," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
"It's likely that a complex of damaging storms gets going by Thursday night, and this complex rolls through portions of the Mississippi Valley on Friday," Gilbert explained.
Given the projected speed of this complex, it will likely push off the coast by later in the day Friday, effectively ending the threat of severe weather in the region.
GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
Thursday's threat comes after several days of severe weather across portions of the Central states. Earlier this week, storms produced all kinds of severe weather in portions of the Plains and Rockies.
"Wind gusts over 80 mph, very large hail upward of 3 inches in diameter and isolated tornadoes were all observed from Tuesday to Tuesday night," said Stahlman.
Hail was large enough to break car windshields and damage homes. In far eastern Colorado near the Kansas state line, one side of a mobile home had its siding ripped off by 2-inch-diameter hail. Hailstones larger than baseballs were measured in Hazard, Nebraska, located in the middle of the state.
After midnight, a line of storms barreled through the Kansas City area with a wind gust of 61 mph recorded at Kansas City International Airport. A possible tornado was also reported just to the southwest of the city.
Severe thunderstorms continued to roar southward into early Wednesday morning, impacting portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas. Early Wednesday, a wind gust of 72 mph was recorded in Amarillo, Texas, as storms tore through the area. Feisty storms continued to impact Oklahoma and northern Texas on Wednesday afternoon.
The risk of severe weather on Wednesday also began to shift farther east by the early afternoon. At approximately 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, a tornado touched down in Indiana, causing damage to a host of homes in Arlington, Indiana. Roughly 90 minutes later, the threats moved even farther east, with a tornado dropping on Darke County, Ohio, in the late afternoon. About 30 miles east of Darke County, another tornado formed near Troy, Ohio, with some reports of damage as of 6:10 p.m. EDT.
The threats in Ohio continued into Wednesday evening, with a large tornado hitting near Tipp City around 6:22 p.m. EDT. The event brought major harm to a building, with an unconfirmed report that it hit a Meijer Distribution Center in the area.
Rounds of storms this week were aided by a heat dome and northward bulge in the jet stream.
"A strengthening heat dome in the Southwest has expanded across much of Texas and Oklahoma," Stahlman said. "On the northern edge of this heat dome, there have been disturbances in the jet stream which have aided in the development and strengthening of clusters of thunderstorms."
Thunderstorms tend to track along the northern edge of heat domes, which has set up some parts of the central U.S. for multiple rounds of thunderstorms over the last several days.
The northward bulge in the jet stream responsible for the heat in the Southwest is expected to expand northeastward this weekend. The change in the pattern will allow for several dry days in the central and southern Plains. The drier regime can even continue into next week, with storms more likely to be focused farther to the north in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
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