Tornadoes, flooding remain a danger as severe weather onslaught continues in central US
Cleanup was quickly underway at the Floyd County Fairgrounds in Charles City, Iowa, on May 27, after an EF1 tornado tore through the area, damaging multiple buildings.
The central United States will remain the target of widespread severe weather, including tornadoes, and flooding through Wednesday night.
The same storm that spawned the devastating tornado near Kansas City, Missouri, will threaten more lives and property from Texas and Oklahoma to Missouri and Illinois into Wednesday night.
Severe thunderstorms will continue to ignite from central Texas to Missouri and Illinois. Heavy rain along and north of this zone will further aggravate flooding and delay planting across the region.
"While large hail, damaging winds and flooding will be the main threats from these storms, the danger for tornadoes cannot be overstated," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards.
The risk of tornadoes is expected to be highest from northeastern Texas into southern Missouri into Wednesday evening.
However, residents throughout the Plains are reminded that it only takes one damaging thunderstorm or tornado to devastate a family or community.
A radar-confirmed tornado threatened the northern suburbs of Dallas on Wednesday afternoon. Penny-sized hail and a thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph were reported. Strong winds damaged power poles and a trailer.
Downloading the free AccuWeather app and enabling audible alerts on your cell phone is a great way to receive severe weather bulletins as they are issued so you can seek shelter.
Some of the cities being threatened in the South Central states into Wednesday night, such as Dallas, have escaped the record onslaught of severe weather earlier this month.
Debris lies on the ground at a motel after a deadly storm moved though the area in El Reno, Oklahoma, on Sunday, May 26, 2019. The storm destroyed the motel and roared through a nearby mobile home park and caused significant damage in the Oklahoma City area, officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/Tim Talley)
Motorists planning to travel on stretches of interstates 20, 30, 35, 40 and 44 are urged to be vigilant and ready to safely leave the highway should severe weather threaten. At the very least, the thunderstorms will create poor visibility and heighten the risk of vehicles hydroplaning.
A quick 1-2 inches of rain can trigger flooding in urban and poor drainage areas, bring streams out of their banks and aggravate ongoing river flooding, especially in areas that have been inundated with heavy rain over the past week.
The severe weather threat will be confined to western and central Texas on Thursday, while much-needed dry weather expands over most of the central Plains.
Despite the return of some sunshine, large rivers will keep rising and prompting evacuations as floodwaters drain downstream.
Dardanelle, Arkansas, was the latest location along the Arkansas River to endure record flooding. The river at Dardanelle rose above the record flood stage of 44.10 feet from May 25, 1943, during the early morning hours of Wednesday.
The Plains will not be treated to a prolonged stretch of sunshine.
Clusters of showers and thunderstorms targeting the Plains are expected to increase again for the start of June. While widespread severe weather is not expected, there can still be localized damaging thunderstorms and flooding further plaguing residents and farmers.
Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
