Brief bout of rain, severe storms to drench Heartland into the weekend
Showers and locally severe thunderstorms will erupt and rumble across parts of the Midwest and the central and northern Plains ahead of a press of drier air during the first part of the weekend.
While the storms will not be as ferocious as those which occurred during much of May, they can produce isolated damaging wind gusts and hail. A couple of isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out as well. However, the main threat will be from localized flooding.
Into Saturday night, a broad area of heavy, gusty and locally severe storms is forecast from eastern New Mexico and western Texas to northern Ohio, southern Michigan and northwestern Pennsylvania.
Given the saturated state of the soil across much of the region, any downpour has the potential to put more water in soggy fields and trigger small stream flooding.
Since the extent of saturated ground is so vast, any additional rainfall can potentially aggravate ongoing river flooding in the region and eventually farther downstream.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol and emergency managers documented extensive flooding that inundated properties in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, on May 30. Severe flooding has impacted the area over the last few days with multiple communities dealing with rising water.
Motorists should anticipate the likelihood of flooded streets and highways. Never attempt to drive through inundated areas as the road surface may have been washed away or the water may be much deeper than it appears.
Wind gusts that fall below the severe weather criteria of 58 mph can still knock over trees due to the saturated ground.
For those with outdoor plans this weekend, it will not be a total washout.
This bout of storms will be brief and is forecast to be followed by two to three days of rain-free weather in most locations from later this weekend to early next week.
However, the southern Plains and part of the central Plains will be areas that remain stormy on a daily basis through the first full week of June. Enough rain may fall to make flooding worse in part of the region.
The mainly dry weather will be accompanied by chilly conditions from the Great Lakes to the upper part of the Ohio Valley, with warmer conditions over the northern Plains.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see when rain will return to your area and to be alerted as severe weather approaches.
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