Heavy, locally damaging storms to threaten outdoor plans in midwestern US at end of weekend
People with outdoor plans in the midwestern United States will need to keep a close eye to the sky as another round of thunderstorms rolls in at the end of the weekend.
A cluster of rain and thunderstorms that moves through the northern Plains on Saturday night will progress eastward through Minnesota, Wisconsin and a portion of Iowa, Nebraska and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Sunday night.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center recorded two preliminary tornado reports in McLeod County, Minnesota, at 3:16 p.m., and 2:40 p.m. CDT. Both were phoned in by a trained spotter.
Around 4:30 p.m. CDT, a firefighter spotted a tornado near Highway 97 and Enfield Avenue in Washington County, Minnesota. In the same county, a fourth preliminary tornado report came in a minute later, listing damage such as trees down and a tree on two houses.
Residents with outdoor plans in Minneapolis; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Sioux City and Mason City, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Omaha, Nebraska, should be ready to take cover indoors at the first rumble of thunder.
Thunderstorms with frequent lightning strikes and downpours will be common in the area at risk.
However, some of the strongest storms can bring hail and damaging wind gusts. Gusts could reach an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph.
The downpours can lead to slowdowns and times of reduced visibility on interstates 29, 35, 80, 90 and 94.
Motorists are reminded to lower speeds on the highway in a downpour to reduce the risk of hydroplaning.
Enough rain to trigger flash flooding is possible in some of the storms.
As the storms march farther east early this week, the Midwestern states will enjoy a refreshing cooldown as drier air moves in.
Download the free AccuWeather app to receive severe weather watches and warnings for your area as soon as they are issued. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
