If you ever needed more proof that nature is determined to destroy everything you know and love, consider that a small cluster of thunderstorms that formed in Minnesota on Sunday night grew into a powerful derecho that lasted for 30 hours, traveling nearly 1,200 miles before croaking in North Carolina.
Round two of a three-day severe weather outbreak across the eastern half of the United States is getting ready to unfold across the Midwest this evening and tonight. The atmosphere is getting antsy, and it looks primed to produce more destructive straight-line winds and maybe even a strong tornado or two. The storms also have the potential to develop into another derecho, much like the one we saw today.
A classic summertime severe weather outbreak is likely to unfold over the next few days across the eastern half of the U.S., with each day seeing the potential for extensive straight-line wind damage, large hail, and some tornadoes. The storms could organize into a much-hyped feature known as a “derecho.”
An intense line of thunderstorms ripped, tore, screamed, blasted, and raced through the state of Iowa this morning, producing wind gusts exceeding 90 MPH in spots. Right or wrong, the storm is being touted as a “derecho” in the media; regardless of the name, the storms were brutal.
“It’s dry. Very dry. Oh, God, it’s too dry. It’s raining! Rain! More rain? Ahh, tornado! Whew, back to rain. Too much rain! Make it stop! Ah, sun.” Thus continues the dramatic play that’s been the weather over the central United States for the past few months, with many more inches of rain on the way over the next seven days.
An intense outbreak of cold weather will descend on the eastern two-thirds of the country next week, with widespread low temperatures in the single digits and below zero for a couple of days. Lows in the teens are even possible as far south as Alabama and Mississippi.
The first significant snowstorm of the year will drop between one and two feet of snow across eight states from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest by Tuesday evening. The heavy, wet snow will cause major travel disruptions and possibly some power outages.
A prolonged heavy rain event is expected to unfold across a large portion of the central United States this weekend, with areas from Kansas to Kentucky facing the potential for up to seven inches of rain by early next week. The rain will do wonders to quench drought-bound soils in the region.
After a long period without any severe weather, the atmosphere appears primed for a potentially dangerous severe weather outbreak tomorrow across areas from Kansas to Minnesota. Some areas could see tornadoes, baseball-size hail, and winds in excess of 75 MPH.
A resident of St. Louis took an awesome time lapse of a strong thunderstorm rolling across his neighborhood yesterday. The storm bubbled up on the horizon before racing towards the camera, developing an awesome shelf cloud along the way.
"This is a particularly dangerous situation," says the Storm Prediction Center as a derecho is hauling eastward towards the Chicago metro area after producing 80 MPH winds across Iowa. The line should reach the Chicago metro area during rush hour, sometime between 530 and 630 Central Time this evening.
Parts of the Midwestern United States could see some powerful thunderstorms today, some of which could be extremely strong, producing winds in excess of 75 MPH. Due to the heightened threat, parts of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas are under a moderate (4 out of 5) risk for severe weather.
