Flash floods, damaging winds and steady downpours to soak Central Plains into late week
Take a look at this impressive shelf cloud rolling over the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. Severe storms ravaged the area on Aug. 20.
Rounds of drenching showers and locally severe thunderstorms will continue to create flooding problems across part of the central United States through Thursday night and into Friday.
Thunderstorm complexes will continue to track along a corridor where hot and steamy air to the south meets cool, less humid air to the north.
"The weather pattern produced a derecho, or long-track damaging thunderstorm event on Tuesday, which traveled from southern Iowa to southwestern Ohio," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Severe thunderstorms with consistent damaging winds traveled along an approximate 500-mile-long swath during the event.
On Tuesday night, a separate area of severe thunderstorms gathered over Nebraska, with a wind gust of 91 mph reported at a weather station at KNEB in Scottsbluff. Extensive tree damage occurred in the area.
Late Wednesday, damaging and drenching thunderstorms struck the Wichita, Kansas, metro area. The city's airport recorded over 2 inches of rain in one hour, which left many streets flooded and vehicles stranded.
Denver was another city hit by a severe storm that unloaded quarter-sized hail and flooding downpours on Wednesday evening. Power outages not only left people in the dark, but also disrupted travel with some traffic signals not working during and in the wake of the storm.
Water rescues were also reported around St. Louis as downpours flooded the metro area late Wednesday. The St. Louis Cardinals game was called in the middle of the seventh inning due to weather as the Milwaukee Brewers led 5-3.
"Episodes of rain, some heavy, and locally severe thunderstorms will push west to east through Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jack Boston said.
Into Thursday night, the downpours will spread slightly farther southward, extending into part of Oklahoma and Arkansas, while continuing to douse Kansas and Missouri.
The risk of heavy, locally damaging thunderstorms will extend as far east as part of the Appalachians and part of the mid-Atlantic.
Motorists on stretches of interstates 29, 35, 44, 70 and 80 should be prepared for slower travel times and a heightened risk of hydroplaning while traveling at highway speeds.
Flooded roadways could force some drivers to turn around and find safer, alternate routes to their destinations.
Airline passengers in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, may experience flight delays.
Rounds of downpours are expected to continue to pester the central Plains on Friday as the southward progress of September-like air stalls over the nation's midsection. However, just enough dry air may work its way southward for the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas to turn drier.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the exact forecast for your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
