Drenching storms to frequent central US through early this week

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist

June 17, 2018, 7:03:15 PM EDT

The central United States will be the focal point for flooding downpours and locally severe thunderstorms through Tuesday.

Storms have been riding the northern rim of intense heat from the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest since late this past week.

Another round of feisty storms is set to fire up on Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening, with areas from eastern South Dakota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at risk.

Hail, damaging winds, frequent lightning and flooding downpours will be the primary impacts along this corridor into Sunday night.

The risk of flash flooding may be greatest on Sunday night when storms will be repetitive and slow moving from Nebraska to Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

Flash flooding can occur even in the absence of damaging storms.

Cooler, less humid air pressing in from Canada will cause the stormy corridor to sink southward early this week.

The central Rockies to the central Plains will be the active zone for severe weather and flooding downpours this week, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jack Boston.

As Minneapolis cools into the 70s F and catches a break from the intense storms, residents farther south between the Interstate 70 and I-90 corridor will need to keep an umbrella handy and seek shelter at times early this week.

This includes in Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisconsin; Chicago; and Kansas City, Missouri.

People who were able to frequent the swimming pool or lake during the stretch of dry, hot weather along this corridor last week will need to find more indoor activities to do on Monday and/or Tuesday.

Worse than altering plans, the showers and thunderstorms could unleash 2-4 inches of rain within a few hours, which is enough to trigger flash flooding.

Motorists should be wary of flooded and washed-out roads and slow down on area interstates as downpours and blowing spray from vehicles will reduce visibility.

The progression of the cooler air may hit a roadblock over the nation's midsection prior to midweek, causing downpours to repeat from the Front Range of the central Rockies to the middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys and further escalating the flood threat.

Residents who live in flood-prone areas or who have already received a significant amount of rainfall this month should be vigilant for rising water levels.

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While the threat for severe weather will not be as widespread as this weekend, a few areas will remain at risk for gusty to locally severe storms, in addition to flash flooding, early this week.

On Monday afternoon and evening, the greatest risk of storms producing damaging winds and hail is forecast to stretch from eastern Nebraska to southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, including Chicago.

On Tuesday, the threat of locally severe storms will shift westward, encompassing southeastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado to much of Nebraska and Kansas.

Additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected to douse the Central states, mainly south of the northern Mississippi Valley and upper Great Lakes, during the second half of the week.