A parade of systems will bring rounds of thunderstorms to the central United States into the new week, including damaging winds, tornadoes and headaches for travelers at airports across the region.
Published Aug. 27, 2022 8:00 AM EDT | Updated Aug. 28, 2022 7:09 PM EDT
Much of the central United States has experienced a period of calm weather in recent days as deluges drenched areas from the interior Southwest through the Gulf Coast states, including historic rainfall in Dallas. However, AccuWeather forecasters say that unsettled weather will return to the Plains this weekend with rounds of severe weather.
As is typical in the summer months, a plethora of heat and moisture is present across much of the central U.S., and a disturbance tracking across the country will tap into the warmth and humidity to generate storms.
"With warm and humid air in place, an approaching storm system will lead to a dip in the jet stream, helping provide the final push necessary for these thunderstorms to quickly develop," AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Sadvary explained.
Storms first developed in the Midwest on Saturday, with over a dozen reports of damaging winds and hail in Iowa and Minnesota. The Minneapolis area was especially hard hit as damaging thunderstorms rolled through, with reports of flooding at the Minnesota State Fair.
More of the same continued in the Midwest on Sunday.
Storms first developed in northern Illinois and Wisconsin, with another zone of development likely to develop farther west into Iowa and Minnesota on Sunday evening.
Later at night, storms will continue to push eastward, with the Chicago area, Wisconsin and parts of western Michigan possible seeing intense storms.
Damaging winds will be a primary threat from these storms, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph. Hail will also be a threat in the strongest storms that develop. While a lack of recent heavy rainfall will keep the flood threat from being a major concern, localized flash flooding will be possible in spots that receive multiple rounds of storms in one day, especially in urban areas.
In addition to those threats, a tornado cannot be ruled out in some thunderstorms.
"The presence of a strong jet stream dipping down into the area will increase wind shear and might allow for a few tornadoes to develop," AccuWeather Meteorologist Thomas Geiger said.
More storms are predicted to rumble across the central U.S. to kick off the work week with the severe weather potential expanding to include areas from Michigan through the Texas Panhandle.
"Not every location will be hit by these storms. But with such a large area possibly in play, the impacts stand a chance to be greater," Geiger said.
On all both days, storms may be especially impactful to travel as families take advantage of the last weekends of summer. Air travel may be impacted in cities such as Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and Oklahoma City, as thunderstorms contribute to travel delays and cancellations.
Travelers that elect to travel by road could also face weather-related disruptions, especially along portions of interstates 25, 55, 70, 80 and 90. Drivers are urged to allow for extra time when driving through poor weather and to never cross through flooded roadways.
Folks waiting for the return of dry conditions will not have to wait too long as thunderstorms are foreseen to clear much of the region by Tuesday as thunderstorms instead target the Northeast.
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