Tornadoes and baseball-sized hail struck parts of Wisconsin and Iowa Tuesday night, damaging buildings and destroying at least one home.
The severe weather is part of a multi-day outbreak that began Monday and is expected to continue into the weekend from the southern Plains to the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. Similar areas remained at risk Wednesday, with the threat of large hail, damaging winds and additional tornadoes stretching from Dallas to Chicago.
Outages were slowly increasing Wednesday morning, with more than 62,000 reported in Michigan and more than 20,000 in Wisconsin, according to PowerOutage.us.
Flooding is also a serious concern in some parts of the Great Lakes, with rivers already swollen and some dams in Wisconsin at risk of bursting.
A devastating twister struck near Union Center, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, prompting a tornado warning for “particularly hazardous conditions” due to severe storms. Juneau County Emergency Management officials said multiple buildings were damaged and power lines were down, but no injuries or deaths were reported. Assessing the damage will continue into the morning, while the Salvation Army and Red Cross will assist those evacuated.
Tornado warnings were issued for millions of people in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan. and Fayetteville, Arkansas, from Tuesday night until early Wednesday morning. Students and staff at the University of Michigan and the University of Arkansas were advised to evacuate.
Strong and severe thunderstorms also touched down in Chicago and Grand Rapids, Michigan, with wind gusts of up to 80 mph observed at the airport.
Softball-sized hail fell near Maple Bluff, Wisconsin. Rocks this large can seriously injure people, destroy vehicles, and punch holes in roofs.
More than a dozen tornadoes were reported in parts of Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday, including an EF2 in Miami County, Kansas. Miami County Deputy Sheriff Matthew Kelly said the storm damaged about 100 structures, about 50 to 60 of which were completely destroyed, with much of the impact concentrated in the Hillsdale neighborhood.
Another round of strong storms is expected to arrive Wednesday, but wind damage and hail, rather than tornadoes, appear to be the biggest concerns in most areas. Far northern Texas, Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas are most likely to see more impactful, severe storms, but the danger zone extends north into the upper Mississippi Valley and east into central Pennsylvania.
By Thursday, the storm’s threat had decreased and its range became less widespread, remaining in a narrow area across the Ohio River Valley.
Another surge in jet stream energy will bring a final round of powerful thunderstorms on Friday, especially from Oklahoma to Iowa. Powerful tornadoes, destructive hail, and winds are all possible.
The system could produce a final storm system in the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Saturday. The storm-weary central U.S. will finally get a few days of respite starting Sunday as a changing weather pattern brings temperatures down.
Multiple rains are exacerbating flooding in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, with rivers already swollen after a record and ongoing snowmelt caused one of the wettest rivers to spring up. The risk of flash flooding was at level 2/4 for parts of the Upper Midwest Wednesday.
In Milwaukee, multiple drivers were stranded and at least five vehicles were stranded near rapidly rising Timmerman Airport, CNN affiliate WTMJ reported. Thanks to the efforts of emergency personnel, all occupants were able to safely evacuate. CNN has contacted local authorities for more information.
O’Hare International Airport recorded 2.21 inches of rain between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m., and major street flooding occurred in the Chicago area Tuesday night, with most of the rain falling between 10 p.m. and midnight.
More water rescues and evacuation orders were reported Tuesday in Cheboygan, Michigan. Officials issued a notice to evacuate low-lying areas along the Cheboygan River due to a levee failure in the Little Black River watershed.
Firefighters in Suamico, Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay, rescued three people from a flooded home as water levels continued to rise, according to a fire department post Tuesday morning.
The Muskegon River near Evert, Michigan is predicted to reach major flood stage (14 feet) by Thursday. The National Weather Service said that water level could cause major flooding in riverside sections upstream of the town, prompting evacuations.
