The central United States will have little time to recover from the latest severe weather outbreak before the next round of violent storms ignites early this week.
This next outbreak has the potential to be just as significant, if not worse than the severe weather event that began unfolding on Friday.
"It looks like there is no end in sight to this very active pattern of severe weather into the end of May," AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer said.
On Friday, Timmer was reporting from Nebraska for the AccuWeather Network and intercepted a tornado on foot near McCook.
AccuWeather's Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer caught a tornado in McCook, Nebraska on video on May 17, 2019. (Reed Timmer)
Nearly 40 preliminary tornadoes were reported across Nebraska and Kansas to end this past week, and the severe weather continued on Saturday.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jack Boston is concerned that numerous tornadoes will once again be spawned during the renewed severe weather threat early this week.
A powerful storm system will set off a major severe weather outbreak across the central and southern Plains on Monday before spreading toward the mid-Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, according to Boston.
Monday is expected to be the most violent day of the outbreak, with areas from western and central Texas through Oklahoma and into southern Kansas at risk of storms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail, flooding downpours and tornadoes.
Some of the tornadoes may be strong, last for more than a few minutes and occur after dark.
Straight-line wind gusts, in lieu of a tornado, can reach an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph, which will knock down trees and cut off power in some communities.
The size of the hailstones can be large enough to inflict damage on siding, vehicles and crops, and cause fatal injuries to people or animals caught outdoors.
"The severe weather early this week over the Central states may be every bit as violent as this weekend and could bring worse conditions to locations that were skipped over by recent storms," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
This includes Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas - cities spared from Friday's and Saturday's severe storms.
Residents and visitors in Midland, San Angelo, Wichita Falls and Abilene, Texas; Lawton, Woodword, Tulsa and Guymon, Oklahoma; and Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas, will also need to keep a close eye to the sky and be aware of rapidly changing weather conditions at the start of the week.
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Motorists traveling along stretches of interstates 20, 27, 35, 40 and 44 will be at risk of facing torrential downpours and a heightened risk of hydroplaning.
"Motorists should consider fully exiting major highways as storms approach and never attempt to drive through flooded roadways," Sosnowski said.
The threat for severe storms and tornadoes to linger into Monday night will add to the danger of this event.
"People are urged to keep phones nearby with alerts turned on, as well as weather radios and/or TV's on with the volume up to hear warnings of any imminent severe weather," Sosnowski said.
The threat for flash flooding will add further risks as the storms unload several inches of rainfall.
There can be an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches of rain from near the Red River of the South to central and eastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, northwestern Missouri and southwestern Iowa.
Even in the absence of severe weather, heavy rain will elevate flooding concerns across the northern Plains.
The dangerous weather conditions are forecast to spread eastward on Tuesday, with even more populated areas at risk.
Storms may be ongoing during the morning hours from near Dallas to Wichita, Kansas. The storms will spread eastward into the Interstate-70 corridor from Kansas City to Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri, as well as Little Rock, Arkansas, and Des Moines, Iowa, into the afternoon and evening hours.
While the extent of the severe weather on Tuesday will hinge on how the storms on Monday and Monday night unfold, AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned that all modes of severe weather will once again be possible.
Download the free AccuWeather app to keep up-to-date with the latest severe weather alerts for your area. Check back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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