Severe storms to bring damaging hail and winds to Plains and Midwest
Powerful thunderstorms that erupt over portions of the Plains and Midwest into this weekend pose a significant risk to crops and property.
Forecasters say the atmosphere is primed for explosive storm development in North Dakota.
Rounds of severe thunderstorms will roar from the parts of the Rockies to portions of the Great Plains and Midwest through this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
The severe weather can be dangerous, damaging and disruptive, even though most storms will occur in less-populated parts of the United States compared to the East or South.
Thursday night, severe thunderstorms extended from eastern Montana into portions of North Dakota, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Numerous wind gusts above 60 mph were recorded across these areas.
On Friday, the risk of severe weather is expected to shift east across parts of the Plains into the Midwest. Some areas may experience a continuation of severe storms from earlier in the week. A ripple in the jet stream will move across this region, straight into a zone of building hot and humid air and could ignite severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail and some tornadoes.
"The storms on Friday may bring monster hail with the potential for some hailstones to reach the size of baseballs or larger," AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley said. "Considerable damage to crops, vehicles and other property is possible."
The risk of severe storms on Friday will extend from Nebraska to southeastern Saskatchewan and part of western Ontario. A concentrated zone of severe weather will likely extend from northeastern South Dakota to eastern North Dakota, much of western Minnesota to near the Winnipeg, Manitoba area.
The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust on Friday is 95 mph.
The severe weather risk will continue to push east and south this weekend. On Saturday, severe thunderstorms are forecast to extend from northern Kansas and far northeastern Colorado to northern Michigan and northeastern Minnesota. The severe threat on Saturday includes the major metro areas of Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Des Moines, Iowa.
Along with the main severe threats of damaging wind gusts and large hail, localized flash flooding can occur with any thunderstorm, especially in areas where storms repeat over multiple days. A few of the strongest storms may also produce a brief tornado.
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