By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist
Severe thunderstorms will erupt across parts of the northern Plains to end this weekend before shifting to the western Great Lakes and central Plains on Monday.
Anyone with travel or outdoor plans from Minnesota through the Dakotas and into southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming could potentially be disrupted by the stormy weather through Sunday night.
There is a risk for some of the thunderstorms from Rapid City, South Dakota, to International Falls, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Ontario, to turn severe with damaging wind gusts and hail being the primary threats. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.
While the storms will be isolated in coverage, motorists should be prepared for torrential downpours that will drastically reduce visibility on portions of interstates 29, 35, 90 and 94.
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Motorists that do not slow down in the downpours will face a heightened risk of hydroplaning as water pools on the roadway.
The zone at risk for heavy, damaging thunderstorms will sink farther south as the new week begins.
Monday's threat zone is forecast to stretch from portions of northern Michigan, westward through Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, Iowa and eastern Nebraska. Cities within this zone include Green Bay and Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis and Rochester, Minnesota; Sioux City, Iowa; and Omaha, Nebraska.
Similar to Sunday, there will be the potential for damaging winds, hail and even an isolated tornado or two in the strongest thunderstorms on Monday afternoon and evening.
Remember that any thunderstorm, regardless of its severity, can produce potentially deadly lightning strikes.
Seek shelter indoors or in a metal, hard-top vehicle as soon as thunder is heard or darkening clouds threaten.
The severe weather through Monday comes after a nearly stationary weather pattern led to rounds of flooding downpours across the central Plains as July ended and August began, with more than 10 inches of rain reported in parts of Kansas.
(Twitter/@ottawaksgov)
Water submerged a portion of Ottawa, Kansas on Thursday morning, August 1, 2019. More than 7 inches of rain had fallen over the city in the early hours of the morning, flooding roads, businesses and cars.
(Twitter/@SEKansasKDOT)
Ottawa, Kansas, received more than 7 inches of rainfall by the early hours of Thursday morning after a storm hit the area. Driving through floodwaters can be extremely dangerous. Remember to turn around, don't drown.
(Twitter@ottawaksgov)
More than 7 inches of rain fell over Ottawa, Kansas, on Thursday morning, August 1, 2019. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the city along with other portions of eastern Kansas.
(Twitter/@ottawaksgov)
By early Thursday morning, more than 7 inches of rainfall had all but submerged the city of Ottawa, Kansas, and other portions of eastern Kansas.
(Twitter/@ottawaksgov)
Streets and businesses alike were flooded on Thursday morning after more than 7 inches of rainfall fell over Ottawa, Kansas on August 1, 2019.
(Twitter/@SEKansasKDOT)
The Kansas Department of Transportation assisted the city of Ottawa with traffic control and barricades on Thursday, August 1, 2019, after a storm had dumped more than 7 inches of rain over a portions of eastern Kansas by the early hours of that morning.
Huron, South Dakota, recorded its second wettest August day on record on Friday as 3.71 inches fell. Only Aug. 2, 1956, with its 4.11 inches was wetter.
Drenching thunderstorms shifted southward on Saturday, prompting flash flood warnings for portions of western Arkansas and central Oklahoma. Weather observers reported ditches and streams overflowing near Mt. Ida, Arkansas, early Saturday morning.
There were radar estimates of over 9 inches of rainfall to the west of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned for the flood risk to ramp back up from the central Plains to the lower Mississippi Valley later this week.
Download the free AccuWeather app to receive severe weather watches and warnings for your area as soon as they are issued. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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