Severe storms to rattle East, repeat in south-central US this week
Severe weather will persist day after day this week, threatening lives and property across more than a dozen states from the Plains to the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts.
Days of severe storms that led to flooding in Texas and Oklahoma began pushing east into Arkansas and beyond on April 30.
Dangerous, damaging and disruptive thunderstorms will continue to erupt and affect portions of the central and eastern United States this week before resetting over the south-central region this weekend and repeating the whole process again, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
As the storms cross highways, wind-driven downpours and ponding will create hazards for motorists. Similarly, as the storms approach the airports, ground stops and flight delays may result due to the potential for dangerous winds (wind shear).
The strongest storms can bring hail large enough to damage vehicles and break windows. Powerful wind gusts can damage property, knock over trees and trigger power outages. As with any thunderstorm, let alone a severe storm, lightning can strike without warning.
Severe storms stretched 1,800 miles Tuesday into Tuesday night
Storms moving at a significant speed rattled the Midwest to the East Tuesday into Tuesday night with widespread damaging wind. Multiple reports of snapped trees, shingles blown off roofs and power lines down stretched from southern Illinois to central portions of Pennsylvania and New York.
This swath of wind damage reports stretched approximately 450 miles in length and 100 miles wide in width.
Local storms reports as of April 29, 2025 11 p.m. EDT via the Storm Prediction Center.
Farther southwest, the storms will be slow-moving and repetitive over portions of the southern Plains. Because of this, there will be a greater risk of flash flooding and rising rivers in the region than in the Northeast. These storms will also bring strong wind gusts and moderate to large hail.
Storms to stretch from Texas to northeast U.S. again on Thursday
On Thursday, the severe weather zone will stretch once again from southwest to northeast as a new push of cooler, less humid air collides with lingering warmth and high humidity across the South and East.
All modes of severe weather are possible from Texas to western New York and southern Ontario, ranging from high winds and hail to flash flooding and perhaps a couple of tornadoes on Thursday.
A disturbance is forecast to drop southeastward across the southern Plains from Thursday night to Friday morning. This system is likely to set of drenching showers and robust thunderstorms. Some of these storms could be severe.
Storms to threaten mid-Atlantic, Gulf coasts by Friday
On Friday, the thunderstorm and severe weather threat is projected to push to the Atlantic Seaboard and the northern Gulf Coast, extending into West Texas.
Where the storms hold off until the afternoon or evening hours on Friday, they could become locally intense with damaging consequences due to daytime heating.
Storms to reload this weekend in South Central, Southwest states
Depending on the speed and intensity of a storm pushing into the Southwest states this weekend, thunderstorms, some severe, will conglomerate over the deserts and southern Rockies and High Plains into next week.
While some much-needed rain will fall from the pattern, the risk of flash flooding may escalate to river flooding over portions of the southern Plains next week.
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