Dangerous storm outbreak tp continues into Monday over central US

After days of deadly severe thunderstorms brought widespread damage across the southeastern and central United States, the threat for violent thunderstorms will continue across the center of the nation into Monday.

There were over 225 preliminary reports of wind damage and 30 reports of hail across the nation from Saturday’s destructive storms, and two more days of active weather still lie ahead.

Storms that rapidly developed across the south-central Plains on Saturday night will continue to expand and intensify on Sunday as they push farther to the east.

After blasting Kansas City and Oklahoma City during Sunday morning church services, the storms will reach St. Louis and Chicago later in the day and eventually reach Dallas and Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday evening.

The main threats from Sunday’s storms, much like on Saturday, will be to cause widespread incidents of damage to trees, power lines and roofs on account of strong wind gusts and localized flash flooding.

In addition, large hail and a few, isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out, especially in the southern half of Sunday’s threat zone.

“The pattern could bring more than one severe thunderstorm per day to any one location,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned.

A broad area of disturbed weather consolidating into a more organized storm system that will ultimately track into the Great Lakes region by Monday night is the culprit behind the ongoing, unsettled conditions.

With plenty of warm, moist air being drawn northward into the Central states, multiple lines and clusters of thunderstorms can develop at almost any time of the day or night.

While enough rain can fall to produce rapid rises on smaller streams and creeks, not enough rain is expected to worsen or significantly alter the ongoing flooding on the Mississippi River.

RELATED: Flooding in the MidWest

13 PHOTOSFlooding in the MidwestSee GalleryFlooding in the MidwestGabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, back right, travels by air boat with Glenn Wyles, top left, Mitch Snyder, bottom right, and Juan Jacobo, bottom left, as they survey damage from the flood waters of the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)An orange windsock is seen at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Neb., site of the bases’ flooded runway, Sunday, March 17, 2019. Rising waters from the Missouri River flooded about a third of the base, including about 3,000 feet of the base’s 11,700-foot runway. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)A BNSF train sits in flood waters from the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Gabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, right, talks to Glenn Wyles, second right, as they survey by air boat flood damage from the flood waters of the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Gabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, top right, travels by air boat with Glenn Wyles, top left, Mitch Snyder, bottom left, and Juan Jacobo, bottom right, as they survey damage from the flood waters of the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Vice President Mike Pence and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, second right point to flooded areas, with Neb. Gov. Pete Ricketts, left, during a helicopter flight over areas affected by the flooding of the Missouri and Elkhorn Rivers, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Nebraska. Pence flew to Omaha, Neb., Tuesday to view damage and to offer support to first responders, volunteers and those displaced by the floods. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Vice President Mike Pence, center, flies by helicopter over areas flooded by the Missouri and Elkhorn rivers, with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, right, and Neb. Gov. Pete Ricketts, left, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)This Tuesday, March 19, 2019 aerial photo shows flooding along the Missouri River in Pacific Junction, Iowa. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says rivers breached at least a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Hundreds of homes are damaged, and tens of thousands of acres are inundated with water. (DroneBase via AP)Akashi Haynes, left, and her daughter Tabitha Viers carry their belongings rescued from their flooded home in Fremont, Neb., Monday, March 18, 2019. Authorities say flooding from the Platte River and other waterways is so bad that just one highway lane into Fremont remains uncovered, and access to that road is severely restricted. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)A BNSF train sits in flood waters from the Platte River, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Cars sit in flood waters from the Platte River alongside a BNSF train, in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Flooded RV’s, washed away by the flood waters of the Platte River, are seen in Merritt’s RV Park in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers there were starting to recede. The National Weather Service said the Elkhorn River remained at major flood stage but was dropping. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT SURNAME – Tom Wilke, center, his son Chad, right, and Nick Kenny, load a boat out of the swollen waters of the North Fork of the Elkhorn River after checking on the Witke’s flooded property, in Norfolk, Neb., Friday, March 15, 2019. Heavy rain falling atop deeply frozen ground has prompted evacuations along swollen rivers in Wisconsin, Nebraska and other Midwestern states. Thousands of people have been urged to evacuate along eastern Nebraska rivers as a massive late-winter storm has pushed streams and rivers out of their banks throughout the Midwest. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Up Next

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However, enough rain may fall to send parts of the Arkansas and Missouri rivers back out over their banks.

For motorists traveling along portions of interstates 20, 30, 40, 44, 55, 70 and 80, rapid reductions in roadway visibility and blinding downpours could cause major delays and make driving difficult, and even dangerous.

Be sure to slow down in heavy downpours or on wet roadways to reduce the risk of hydroplaning when traveling at highway speeds, and never drive through water-covered roadways.

It is impossible to determine the depth of water on a roadway using only one’s eyesight, and it only takes about 2 feet of water to carry away most vehicles.

“Remember to move indoors at the first rumble of thunder since it is at this time that you are at risk for being struck by lightning,” Sosnowski added.

On Monday, the threat for locally severe thunderstorms will shift farther south into eastern Texas and western Louisiana, and repeat in parts of southern Arkansas.

Because the energy supporting the storm system will be lifting northward into the northern tier of the United States on Monday, the threat for widespread severe weather will be less in these areas than what it was farther north on Sunday.

There can still be incidents of damaging winds and especially flash flooding since the storms are forecast to move more slowly than those on Sunday.

Cities such as San Antonio, Houston, Tyler and Dallas, Texas, could be targeted with at least a few hours of wet weather on Monday.

Another, more organized area of severe weather will erupt across the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys on Monday as the storm system moves into the western Great Lakes region.

Outdoor sporting events, such as Major League Baseball games, could be delayed or even canceled as the storms roll through the region.

“The threat to lives and property from severe thunderstorms will shift focus from the central and southern Plains to the northern tier of the nation’s midsection in the wake of this storm,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff said.

A northward push in the jet stream will be responsible for bringing about this change in the weather pattern during the middle and latter part of this week, giving the south-central U.S. a much-needed reprieve from the onslaught of relentless thunderstorms.

Download the free AccuWeather app to remain abreast of the latest severe weather watches and warnings. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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