Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend
While heavy rain will be the primary concern in Texas, thunderstorms farther north are expected to bring additional hazards.
A stormy pattern is taking shape across the Upper Midwest for the Independence Day weekend.
Thunderstorms rumbled across parts of Texas and the Upper Midwest early Friday, greeting some residents with a stormy start to the Fourth of July.
Heavy thunderstorms continue to deluge parts of central Texas with many places seeing well over 6 inches of rain in only a matter of a few hours. Flash flooding will continue to be a prominent risk through Sunday, especially in places north and west of Austin, Texas.
Holiday weekend to wrap on a stormy note
Showers and thunderstorms will linger across the Midwest and the Ohio Valley to close out the long weekend, any of these storms will be capable of producing damaging winds and flash flooding.
While thunderstorms can spark early in the day, the most potent and widespread storms can be expected in the afternoon evening hours, including in cities such as Detroit and St. Louis.
Farther west, the severe weather threat will be amplified as Saturday's storms in the Rockies pushes into the Plains. The system will move east slowly, keeping the severe weather threat alive for some of the same areas into Sunday. Hail and damaging winds will remain the main hazards, though there can also be localized flash flooding.
Multiple days of severe weather into the early week
The severe weather will continue into Monday when people are returning to work after the long holiday weekend. The overall pattern will feature building heat in the West, and as energy in the atmosphere moves up and over the heat dome in the West, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected in a zone from the Plains into the Ohio Valley and the Tennessee Valley.
"As we move beyond the holiday weekend into Monday through Wednesday, each day could bring the risk of clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms diving southward around the periphery of the heat dome," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
While it is a little too early to pinpoint specific areas and hazards for Tuesday and Wednesday, Pydynowski added, "Damaging winds and localized flash flooding from repeated downpours could occur during this time."
As the jet stream shifts later this week, thunderstorms may return to areas that started the week on a cooler note. Some of these storms could bring gusty winds and heavy downpours.
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