Next round of severe storms to rattle central, southern Plains on Saturday

By Kyle Elliott, AccuWeather meteorologist

May 19, 2018, 9:00:27 AM EDT

Following a plethora of damaging wind and hail reports in the western Plains on Friday, the next round of severe thunderstorms has its sights set on the central and southern Plains into Saturday evening.

In addition to destructive wind gusts and large hail, storms into Friday night also dumped copious amounts of rain in localized areas.

Goodland, Kansas, received over 3 inches of rain in just four hours on Friday night, or nearly the same amount of rain the city picked up in a four-month period spanning January to April.

"There were a few reports of tornadoes in sparsely populated areas of western Kansas on Friday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.

On Saturday, the risk for severe weather will shift farther east and include more highly populated areas, including the cities of Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Oklahoma City, Doll added.

Large stretches of interstates 35, 40 and 70 lie within Saturday’s threat zone, so motorists should be prepared for rapidly changing roadway conditions and reduce speeds in blinding downpours or dangerous crosswinds.

The likelihood of a vehicle hydroplaning increases greatly at highway speeds.

After Saturday started with a few hail-producing thunderstorms, the severe weather will ramp up later in the day.

“Severe thunderstorms are expected to erupt late in the afternoon and move east and northeast through the evening hours,” according to Doll.

Areas from southern and eastern Kansas to southeastern Nebraska and northwestern Missouri are at highest risk for being impacted by a few tornadoes.

“In addition to the tornado risk, the most intense thunderstorms can produce damaging hail, winds strong enough to bring down trees and power lines and flooding downpours,” Doll warned.

Anybody with outdoor plans on Saturday should keep a close eye on the sky, monitor the latest severe weather watches and warnings and move indoors as soon as thunder is heard or lightning spotted.

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Loose outdoor objects can turn into dangerous projectiles in the presence of strong winds and/or a tornado.

Residents from central and southwestern Kansas to western Oklahoma and West Texas dealing with severe to even exceptional drought will welcome any rain that should help to put a dent in the rainfall deficit.

For farmers and those with agricultural interests in the area, the rain may give a boost to the growing season and help to green up parched vegetation.

Thunderstorms should weaken significantly and even collapse completely before approaching Dallas and St. Louis later Saturday night and Sunday.

Although storms may re-fire in portions of the western Ohio Valley on Sunday, the risk of severe weather will be decreased significantly from that on Saturday.