Severe weather to continue Saturday with tornado risk in central US
A multiday severe weather event will continue into Saturday with tornadoes, hail and damaging winds from the Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes.
"A multiday severe weather outbreak has unfolded across the central United States,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty. Tornadoes are possible with the most intense storms through Saturday.
There have been more than 900 filtered reports of severe weather from Tuesday to Friday night, including nearly 60 reports of tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). On Friday alone, there have been over 350 filtered reports, with two dozen reports of tornadoes.
The bulk of the severe weather has focused on the Midwest and the Plains, with some additional reports of damaging wind and hail in parts of the Northeast. A significant share of the severe weather and tornado reports this week have been from Wisconsin and Iowa.
AccuWeather’s severe weather classification is impact-driven and differs from the Storm Prediction Center’s system, with a focus on clarity for the general public.
On Friday and Friday night, severe thunderstorms stretched from the Rio Grande River Valley in Texas to northern and eastern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. The bulk of reports occurred across northern Missouri, eastern Iowa, northern and central Illinois and far southern Wisconsin. Hail the size of baseballs impacted the region, as well as numerous reports of tornadoes and damaging winds.
As of early Saturday morning, over 50,000 customers were without power across these states.
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Severe weather threat shifts east Saturday
As a cold front tied to the storm system advances, the risk of severe weather will be pushed hundreds of miles farther to the east.
Saturday's severe weather threat zone will extend from central Arkansas to southwestern Ontario, including central and eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and southwestern New York.
A few tornadoes are possible in the strongest storms Saturday. Some storms may bring damaging wind gusts and hail.
Sunday's storms may still bring damaging wind gusts and hail
By Sunday, the severe weather potential is likely to have passed its peak, but some gusty thunderstorms may extend from the northern Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast.
As the cold front moves through the Southeast, rainfall may be spotty. The heaviest downpours are most likely along the Gulf Coast and from the mid-Atlantic to New England.
Much of the Southeast is in dire need of rain amid a long-term drought and wildfire danger.
Upper Midwest flooding to continue, as rain becomes less frequent
Near and north of the severe weather zone, torrential rain has set into motion moderate to major flooding over the Upper Midwest. Additional downpours Friday aggravated existing flooding in the region.
Flash flooding along small streams is feeding into progressively larger rivers across the region. The Muskegon and Grand rivers in Michigan and the Shiocton, Menominee and Wolf rivers in Wisconsin will be at major flood stage into this weekend and may take a week or more to fall below flood stage. In some cases, the rivers will crest at record high levels.
Minor flooding is anticipated along a large portion of the Wabash River in Indiana, and minor flooding along a portion of the Mississippi River above St. Louis may last for a couple of weeks or more, even if rainfall stops completely.
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