Millions of Americans are facing a near-daily threat of severe weather as a highly active June pattern continues to push dangerous storms across the central and eastern regions of the country. The upcoming rounds of weather are expected to pack a heavy punch, bringing damaging wind gusts, large hail, isolated tornadoes, and localized flash flooding from the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast.
This week’s volatile setup follows a series of destructive storms earlier in the month, including a June 17 tornado that completely leveled a home in Effingham, Illinois, though the resident sheltering inside escaped without injury.
Now, the immediate concern for the first half of the week centers on the eastern U.S. and the South.
A cold front stretching across the mid-Atlantic, down into the South, and back into the Plains is driving these storms. Because recent downpours and former Tropical Storm Arthur already saturated the soil and raised river levels in parts of the South, even a modest amount of new rainfall could trigger sudden, renewed flooding.
By mid-week, the primary severe weather action is moving back toward the Plains. As storm systems push out of the Rockies and collide with warm, moisture-heavy air, communities from eastern Colorado and New Mexico up through Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles will see repeated storm risks.
While not every town will get hit, the strongest storms could produce isolated tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind gusts reaching up to 85 mph. On Wednesday, this severe threat is expected to bleed further south and east into the lower Mississippi Valley, Alabama, and the central Gulf Coast.
The storm zone expands even further on Thursday, pulling a broader section of the Plains into the risk area, stretching from northern Oklahoma all the way north into eastern Montana and Idaho. Heavy, localized downpours from these repeated storms will keep heightening the flash flood threat.
Looking ahead to the end of the week, the target zone shifts once again to the north and east. AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus noted that the relief for some areas means a breakdown in weather for others. “The focus of severe thunderstorms will shift into the northern Plains and Midwest this weekend. Thunderstorms in this region will pose the risk of damaging winds, hail and even a few tornadoes,” Duffus said.
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