The same storm system responsible for spawning multiple days of severe weather over the High Plains earlier this week will target the Midwest and lower central Plains with violent thunderstorms into Thursday night.
Three tornadoes that hit Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday night caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and an area hospital as the storm system began to gather strength over the Plains.
As the storm system lifts into northern Minnesota by Thursday night, a trailing cold front will serve as the focal point for yet another round of severe weather on Thursday afternoon and evening.
The storms will extend from the southeastern portions of Minnesota, central Iowa, northwestern Missouri and eastern Kansas to southwestern Wisconsin, western Illinois and central Missouri.
Cities such as Des Moines, Iowa; Rockford, Illinois; and Kansas City, Missouri, lie within the threat zone.
The primary threats from the storms will be damaging wind gusts and flooding downpours, but large hail and isolated tornadoes are also possible in the first few hours after storm initiation.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center reported a tornado just outside of Ossian, Iowa, just before 5 p.m. CDT.
Motorists should expect slow travel and rapidly changing roadway conditions on portions of interstates 35, 70, 80 and 90 that could be impacted by dangerous weather into Thursday night.
Be sure to slow down to minimize the risk for hydroplaning when traveling at highway speeds, and never drive through a flooded roadway. It only takes about 12 to 18 inches of moving water to sweep a vehicle away.
Anybody with outdoor plans should keep an eye on the sky and remain abreast of the latest severe weather alerts in order to be prepared to seek shelter indoors, away from doors and windows , when storms arrive.
If you can hear thunder, then you are close enough to the storm to be at risk of being struck by lightning.
While most storms should produce wind gusts of 50-60 mph, there can be an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 70 mph in the strongest storms.
Winds of this magnitude can bring down trees and power lines, toss around loose objects and tear shingles off roofs.
While the storms will advance into cool air around the Great Lakes, they may still pack a punch in terms of heavy rainfall, gusty winds and frequent lightning late Thursday night around the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.
In the wake of the storms, dry and comfortable conditions are expected to sweep back across the central plains and western Great Lakes region on Friday.
However, there is the risk of heavy, gusty and perhaps locally severe storms in parts of southeastern Michigan, western Ohio and part of southwestern Ontario.
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