Severe thunderstorms brought on by an unusually strong storm system for June could develop across the Midwest on Wednesday, with intense and long-lasting tornadoes, large hail and widespread damaging wind gusts all on the table.
The new threat is an added insult to a weather-weary region that doesn’t seem likely to be able to take a meaningful vacation this month. A multi-day storm last week resulted in more than 1,500 reports of wind, hail and tornadoes across the central United States.
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Wednesday’s most alarming threat will be a roar in the afternoon, but strong storms could still develop in the morning over parts of southern Minnesota and eastern Iowa.
The storm threat will move east from there, focusing primarily on areas from Missouri to Indiana during the afternoon and evening. Parts of central and northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana are at a level 4 risk for severe thunderstorms, but most of the rest of the country is at a level 3/5 risk or lower.
Supercell thunderstorms are expected to slam into these areas.
Supercells are more likely to produce tornadoes than other types of thunderstorms, but other storms can still produce twisters in other parts of the Midwest and parts of the Plains.
Tornadoes that form in high-risk areas can be stronger than EF3 and can reach long distances.
These worst-case scenarios may not always happen, but they are more likely than usual this time of year. That’s because the overall storm system that poses this threat is unusually strong for June, providing extreme amounts of moisture and energy to create explosive storms.
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The threat of severe thunderstorms will expand slightly into the evening as the cold front brings additional storms and extends into parts of Missouri and eastern Kansas.
Damaging wind gusts that could exceed 70 mph (110 km/h) will be the main threat late Wednesday night, with individual storms expected to first merge into a line from eastern Kansas and eventually spread into western Ohio.
The storm will continue throughout the night and will generally take a southeasterly track. The remaining threat will be cleared from the Midwest on Thursday and move to the East.
