Heavy, gusty and locally severe storms to rumble over northern tier of US

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Aside from downpours and thunderstorms associated with Barry, the only area at risk for periodic severe thunderstorms will be across the northern tier of the central United States through midweek.

The storms are forecast to erupt along the northern rim of a large dome of heat that will build over much of the nation this week.

"The risk of rounds of gusty to severe storms will extend from the northern High Plains and parts of the northern Rockies to the central Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes and eventually parts of the central and northern Appalachians," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.

This area is where the jet stream will be the strongest and fuel multiple rounds of heavy, gusty and locally severe storms. Heat fuels the storms from the south, while the jet stream provides extra energy and can allow high winds from aloft to sweep down to the surface in the form of strong gusts.

In addition to the storms bringing strong wind gusts, there can be enough rain to trigger flash and urban flooding where the storms repeat.

RELATED: 
The difference between tornado watches and warnings 
This weather phenomenon not only looks like an 'inland hurricane' on radar -- it can feel like one too 
Barry's downpours to next aim for areas from St. Louis to Pittsburgh 
Photos: 1st hurricane landfall of the season leaves Louisiana, Mississippi waterlogged

Other characteristics associated with the storms will be frequent lightning strikes, and in some cases damaging hail. As is the case with some severe thunderstorms, an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

It is possible that the pattern produces long-lived complexes of severe thunderstorms, called derechos.

Derechos produce damaging wind gusts along a several-hundred-mile-long swath and can survive for more than a single day.

Download the free AccuWeather app for more details on temperature trends in your community. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.