Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues Chevron right
New flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

73°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

73°
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

News / Severe Weather

Severe storms, flooding to target huge swath of Central US

By Jake Sojda, AccuWeather meteorologist

Updated Apr 26, 2021 7:01 AM EDT

Copied

Meteorologist Reed Timmer was chasing a tornado in Lockett and Crowell, Texas on April 23 as “golf ball-” and “baseball-” sized hail pelted his car, cracking his windshield.

After one wave of severe thunderstorms and flooding rain pummeled parts of the Southeast into the first half of the weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists are already looking ahead to the next threat for severe weather that will materialize this week.

Residents of the central and southern Plains, and perhaps some areas farther east, will have to be on guard for all modes of severe weather including giant hail, tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.

All of this will also come as parts of the region remember the the 10-year anniversary of the Super Tornado Outbreak in 2011, an infamous event that spawned hundreds of tornadoes and claimed hundreds of lives across the South.

Forecasters say it will all get underway Tuesday afternoon. "A potent storm in the Southwestern U.S. early in the week will slowly spin eastward toward the southern Plains toward the middle of this week," explained AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Mike Youman.

"As it continues its trek east, rain and thunderstorms will break out in the nation's midsection Tuesday and Wednesday, with at least some of the thunderstorms likely to become severe."

Youman also noted that the threat could eye portions of the East later in the week, but exactly where the greatest threat lies depends on how the storm evolves Tuesday and Wednesday in the Central U.S.

"Confidence is growing that thunderstorms will initially fire up later Tuesday afternoon from western Texas into western Kansas along a boundary called a 'dry line,'" Youman said.

A dry line is a sharp boundary between warm and moist air streaming northward from the Gulf of Mexico, and hot, dry air trying to advance eastward out of the high, desert plateaus of the southern Rockies.

The dry line acts similarly to a cold front in the way it spawns thunderstorms, but instead of temperature differences on each side of the boundary, there are drastic moisture differences. "Dry lines are a very common feature in the warm months in this part of the country, and often spark very powerful thunderstorms whenever some energy is provided from a storm, such as the one expected to swing through the Southwest this week," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.

These thunderstorms can be capable of giant hail, up to baseball or even softball-sized at times, as well as tornadoes, powerful winds and locally torrential downpours which can flood drainage ditches and roadways quickly.

"All forms of severe weather including several tornadoes, very large hail, torrential rainfall, damaging wind gusts and frequent lightning strikes appear to be likely for Tuesday," AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist Eddie Walker said.

Once thunderstorms get under way Tuesday, they will shift eastward Tuesday night into Wednesday, which is when the most widespread coverage of rain and thunderstorms is expected to unfold.

Residents in parts of central and eastern Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as into western Missouri may not see any rain or thunderstorms until the overnight hours Tuesday night, including places like Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Dallas.

However, forecasters say confidence in what the greatest severe threat will be remains lower.

"While there's likely to remain at least some threat for damaging wind gusts and maybe some hail and isolated tornadoes right through Wednesday night, the overall set up may turn into more of a heavy rain and flooding threat for the majority of the region," Youman said.

"It will all depend on exactly how a number of different factors all come together at that time."

Related:

Denver endured snowiest season in decades
Warm and cold battle across the North Central US
Big spring warmup on the horizon after invasion of cold
Incoming Southwest rainfall a “bandaid fix” to extreme drought

However forecasters warn residents not to let their guard down, and to still be prepared for anything. "Even though this set up may not end up being conducive for a large outbreak, that doesn't mean you should let your guard down, as there will be many places on Tuesday and Wednesday that see severe weather across central parts of the country," Youman clarified.

Another aspect of this event will be its slow-moving nature. Whether it's severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and embedded thunderstorms, or some combination of both, many parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas could see multiple rounds from Tuesday night through Wednesday night. Even parts of the lower Ohio Valley in southern Illinois and Indiana into northern Kentucky could get involved in the rain and storms Wednesday and Wednesday night.

"Several inches of rainfall are possible in these areas through Wednesday night, which will certainly bring a heightened threat for flooding before the storm finally moves east," Miller said.

In some areas the heavy rain can lead to flooded fields, damaging crops that have already been planted, or delay planting in areas where farmers are still prepping fields. However, in parts of southern Oklahoma into Texas, where patches of moderate to extreme drought exists, some heavy rainfall may be welcome.

The threat for severe thunderstorms may not end Wednesday, instead continuing into the eastern U.S. Thursday and Friday. However, exactly what regions may see the greatest threat will be highly dependent on a number of factors, including what happens in the Central U.S. Tuesday and Wednesday as well as the timing of a push of cooler air again across the northern U.S. at the same time.

AccuWeather Meteorologists say to keep checking back for updates as confidence grows on how the pattern will set up for the latter portions of this week.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The severe weather anticipated early this week will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Super Outbreak of 2011. Hundreds of severe thunderstorms were spawned during the event which spanned four days from April 25 to 28. The storms killed 321 people and injured nearly 3,000.

The 2011 Super Outbreak was centered significantly farther to the east when compared to the setup for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 27 and 28, 2021. During the Super Outbreak of 2011, severe storms occurred from Texas to New York state and Pennsylvania.

Super Outbreak April 25-28, 2011

Outbreaks of cold air have been suppressing severe weather activity during much of April 2021 thus far. Portions of Texas were hit with record-late frosts and freezes this week. The pattern of cold waves may soon change.

AccuWeather's long-range team of expert meteorologists led by Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, expect a significant upturn in the amount of severe weather and tornadoes as warmth becomes more pronounced across the Central states during May.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, 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. 11, 2025
Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

Jul. 12, 2025
Severe Weather

Is the US seeing worse flooding this summer? Here’s what’s happening

Jul. 11, 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 to fuel flash flooding threat in Texas

34 minutes ago

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

11 hours ago

Weather News

Camp Mystic’s owner warned of floods for decades

22 hours ago

AccuWeather Ready

Is your house in a flood zone? This map has the answer

16 hours ago

Severe Weather

Is the US seeing worse flooding this summer? Here’s what’s happening

21 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

16 hours ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

21 hours ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

21 hours ago

Business

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

21 hours ago

Weather News

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

1 day ago

AccuWeather Severe Weather Severe storms, flooding to target huge swath of Central US
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

...

...

...