Tireless severe storms to repeat from Plains to mid-Atlantic
Severe thunderstorms will tend to favor mid-Atlantic and Plains on a daily basis through the weekend.
An EF3 tornado appeared to briefly lift a semi-truck, nearly flipping it over, as it tore across a freeway in Effingham, Illinois, on June 17.
Travelers and those with outdoor plans will have to do more than dodge raindrops and lightning bolts in the coming days from parts of the Great Plains to the mid-Atlantic coast, as thunderstorms erupt and become severe in localized areas. The storms will occur ahead of a new heat dome forecast to build over the region.
A broad zone of moisture will persist, being turned over by the July sun. Areas where ripples in the jet stream or waves of low pressure along a stalled front become involved will be favored for more organized thunderstorm activity above the typical garden-variety summer downpour.
A bolt of lightning strikes before the start of the New York City fireworks show, as seen from Bayonne, New Jersey, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Severe storms to rumble during the weekend
The risk of severe weather will center a bit farther south on Sunday than on Saturday, reaching from Louisiana through portions of Mississippi and Alabama, and farther east into much of Georgia and the Carolinas.
AccuWeather meteorologists are closely monitoring a zone of repeating downpours that will develop over the South into early this week.
Despite all the risks from wind, hail and flash flooding, the most common hazard for those outdoors is lightning, and it does not take a severe thunderstorm to produce a dangerous strike.
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