Severe weather onslaught to continue across midwestern US into the weekend
There will be no rest for storm-weary residents of the midwestern United States as additional bouts of thunderstorms threaten to cause more damage into Saturday.
The next round of thunderstorms will slow cleanup operations from previous storms and continue to raise the risk of flash, urban and river flooding.
Isolated severe thunderstorms blossomed over the western Dakotas and Iowa late Thursday and Thursday night, triggering damaging winds and large hail.
Thunderstorms will increase in coverage and intensity through Friday night as a storm drops southeastward across the region.
This next round of severe weather may be similar in nature to the intense line of storms at midweek, which caused extensive tree damage and cut power to tens of thousands of people.
The threat for a few tornadoes to spin up will be highest as storms initially develop across the Dakotas and Minnesota into Friday night, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson.
"A second batch of severe thunderstorms will affect areas from Iowa to southern Michigan and northern Indiana," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
Storms will pick up speed and race southeastward toward the western and lower Great Lakes, including Chicago, as the evening and overnight progresses. During this time period, damaging winds and torrential downpours will become the primary threats.
A few isolated tornadoes may also be spawned.
Repeated downpours will threaten some locations with flooding. Flooding can occur even in the absence of damaging storms.
“Many of these areas have seen repeated heavy rainfall this month, and these additional rounds of storms will only exacerbate any ongoing flooding,” Adamson said.
Rainfall from midweek totaled 2 to up to 5 inches across a narrow swath of the Midwest with mudslides reported in parts of western Wisconsin. Several inches of additional rainfall will struggle to soak into the saturated ground.
Runoff into area streams and rivers will be enhanced.
Those traveling through the region will need to stay vigilant for flood waters and downed trees or power lines blocking roads.
A much smaller area of the Midwest will be at risk of severe weather on Saturday as a majority of the storms will shift eastward into the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic.
Portions of northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that may be spared from severe weather to end the week could be in the line of fire of the storms to start out the weekend.
Damaging winds, downpours and hail are the anticipated threats for any storms that develop in these areas on Saturday afternoon.
Drier and cooler conditions will finally arrive in the Midwest late this weekend and last into early next week.
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