Severe storms, downpours to soak Upper Midwest, northern Plains this weekend

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

June 17, 2018, 5:06:51 AM EDT

Downpours and severe thunderstorms will continue to cruise the northern tier of the central United States through this weekend.

The greatest risk to lives and property may be from flooding rainfall since some communities will be hit with more than one downpour in a few hours and perhaps several downpours over an extended period through this weekend.

"In areas that get hit by repeating storms, 2 to as much as 4 inches of rain can fall in only a few hours’ time, and this amount of rain will be sufficient to trigger flash flooding," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott said.

"Residents living along streams and creeks should have a plan of action in place if and when floodwaters threaten," he said.

Motorists should not attempt to drive through flooded roadways. The water may be much deeper than it appears and/or the road surface beneath may have been washed away.

Into Sunday, thunderstorms will continue to fire on the northern rim of a large area of heat that will extend from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes region.

Tropical moisture from former Hurricane Bud will join the activity and may further enhance rainfall and bring more organization to the thunderstorms.

In addition to the risk for flooding, some of the thunderstorms can turn severe into Sunday night.

Drenching and gusty thunderstorms will target part of southern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin to end the weekend, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

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North of the thunderstorm zone, a swath of steady, drenching rain is likely from part of eastern Wyoming to northwestern Nebraska, South Dakota and central Minnesota during Sunday.

On Sunday night, the risk for downpours will stretch from northeastern Colorado to Wisconsin.

The combination of prior rainfall and additional rain anticipated through this weekend will result in an enhanced risk of flash flooding.

In lieu of flooding, some areas experiencing long-term dryness to moderate drought will benefit from the stormy pattern. This includes portions of the Dakotas, central and northern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.