Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – More than 40 million people in parts of the Central and Eastern US are under threat from a pair of storm systems. These storms bring the potential for large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes. The most at-risk area spans from central Texas to southern South Dakota, including areas like Oklahoma City and Kansas City. Central Kansas to South Dakota is expected to experience the most severe thunderstorms.
Before the storms even arrive, gusty winds up to 55 mph are forecasted from western Nebraska through the Texas panhandle. The combination of dry air and high temperatures in the region will create critical fire weather conditions. The storms are expected to intensify late Monday afternoon and move eastward through the evening. Overnight storms are also likely, prompting the advice to enable severe weather alerts on phones before heading to bed.
The remnants of a separate weekend storm may bring large hail and strong winds to eastern North Carolina and Virginia on Monday. On Tuesday, the severe storm threat expands from southern Wisconsin to Louisiana, with damaging winds being the main concern. However, the possibility of hail and an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. The most concentrated area for severe weather on Tuesday, especially for hail and tornadoes, is anticipated over southern Iowa and Missouri in the mid-afternoon and early evening.
Flooding is also a concern along the storm’s path, with a risk of excessive rainfall from northern Texas to North Dakota on Monday. By Tuesday, the moisture is expected to spread eastward, posing a flooding risk mainly to the Midwest. Widespread rainfall totals between 1 to 3 inches are forecasted from Nebraska to Wisconsin through Wednesday. Cities like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, are already experiencing a surplus of rain this month, with numerous river gauges already at minor flood stage before the next round of rain arrives.
CNN meteorologists Allison Chinchar and Caitlin Kaiser contributed to this report.