Damaging thunderstorms, flooding to aim at midwestern US into Monday night
Portions of the midwestern United States are expected to deal with rounds of thunderstorms, which may pose a threat for flooding, damaging winds, hail and even isolated tornadoes into Monday night.
The same storm that unleashed damaging thunderstorms and several tornadoes across the High Plains to end the weekend will be responsible for triggering the severe weather across the Midwest to start the week.
AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned, not only for the risk of severe weather in this area, but also flooding as some locations may have multiple rounds of soaking thunderstorms.
"In terms of expected hazards, flash flooding will be the most widespread hazard seen with there being so much moisture available," AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Joseph Bauer stated.
Monday started with a round of drenching thunderstorms. A flash flood warning was issued for northern portions of the St. Louis metro area shortly after 3 a.m. CDT as heavy, slow-moving thunderstorms tracked through the area. Granite City, Illinois, located northeast of St. Louis, received 7.5 inches of rain during Monday morning.
Reed Timmer and his dog, Gizmo, were in Fort Thompson, South Dakota on August 9, as the relentless rainfall flooded the area. The flash flood seemed to upset Gizmo quite a lot.
Another round of violent and drenching thunderstorms is erupting across the severe forecast area as of late Monday evening. Near Edenburg, Illinois, local emergency management reported a tornado on the ground. Flash flooding is also ongoing across portions of central Illinois and is expected to continue through the night.
Major cities at risk for severe weather into Monday night include St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis; and Dayton and Columbus, Ohio.
Motorists across stretches of interstates 29, 35, 55, 65, 70, 75, 80, 94 and others should keep an eye out for rapidly deteriorating conditions. Storms will continue through the nighttime hours across these interstates, leading to an increased risk.
Late Monday evening, numerous reports of flooded roads and stranded vehicles have been reported across the northern Detroit suburbs.
At night on flooded roadways, it can be extremely difficult to gauge just how deep the water is. If water is observed over roadways, motorists are urged to turn around, don't drown.
Much of the Midwest has had to deal with an abundance of rainfall this spring and summer, leading to troubling times for area farmers. Due to the difficult times farmers have already had to deal with this season, corn yields are already expected to be the lowest in as many as seven years.
While some rain is of course good for the crops, AccuWeather meteorologists predict that areas will likely have excessive amounts of rainfall over a short period of time, leading to flooding in low-lying areas.
The threat for continued showers and thunderstorms will shift east across the Ohio Valley and the Northeast into Tuesday. The storminess will bring an end to the dry, settled and pleasant weather observed across these areas over the weekend.
Download the free AccuWeather app to keep track of severe weather alerts in your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
