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Destructive Storms Punish Plains, Mississippi Valley
UPDATED 1:45 AM CDT, May 20, 2013
UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Fred Allen | Arcing lines of punishing thunderstorms are stomping across the Plains and Mississippi Valley tonight. In addition to a few destructive tornadoes, very large hail and damaging wind gusts will be on the weather menu from Oklahoma to Wisconsin. Even Monday will offer more the same in similar locations.
Several arcing lines of damaging thunderstorms are streaking across eastern Nebraska and Kansas, and from Missouri to Iowa, Minnesota, and western and northern Wisconsin tonight. Even more dangerous thunderstorms with a history or producing destructive tornadoes are sweeping across eastern Oklahoma between the Interstate 40 and 44 corridors.
Tornado Watches stretch across northeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Missouri, as well as across the Mississippi Valley from central Illinois to central Wisconsin. Included are Tulsa, Okla., Springfield, Ill., the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois, and Madison and La Crosse, Wis.
The threat for significant severe weather is so high the government`s Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Risk for several tornadoes, some of which will be long-lived and strong, destructive wind gusts peaking at 80 mph, and hail greater than baseball size. Cities still caught in the heightened severe weather danger zone include Springfield and Joplin, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla.
The trigger for these massive storms is a combo of a dry line dividing warm, moisture-rich Gulf of Mexico moisture across the Plains from cooler, drier air spilling onto the western High Plains, as well as a potent upper-level low surging into the southeastern Plains and western Missouri Valley tonight.
Severe weather reports have been coming in fast and furious from the Plains to Great Lakes. There have been a total of 250 severe weather incidents, with 20 of those possible tornadoes. One such violent tornado caused structural damage in Carney, Okla., earlier this evening, while news reports indicate yet another tornado claimed the life of one in a mobile park in northern Shawnee, Okla., tonight.
Besides the severe threat, the storms will unleash heavy downpours, with a quick 1 to 2 inches falling in a short time period. If you come across a flooded roadway, it`s best to "Turn Around, Don`t Drown."
Unfortunately, the start of the work week will offer little severe weather relief for the same Central U.S. locations. Just like Sunday, large stretches of the Interstate 35, 40, and 44 corridors will be caught in the crosshairs of Mother Nature`s wrath on Monday.
Places like Oklahoma City, Norman, and Tulsa, Okla., and Springfield and Joplin, Mo., will all be found in the heightened Moderate Risk for a severe weather outbreak of damaging thunderstorms carrying a few significant, long-lived tornadoes, very large hail, and destructive wind gusts peaking at 80 mph.
A broader severe risk extends from the Great Lakes into central Texas, including Dallas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., Chicago, and Milwaukee.
Be sure to download the WeatherBug app on your smart phone. The mobile app now includes Spark Lightning Alerts, a GPS-based lightning detection feature providing you the location of the closest lightning strike, so you can Know Before the storm hits. Click here for the link to download.
Be sure to keep WeatherBug active to receive the latest severe weather in your neighborhood and get the latest updates anywhere on Twitter.
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