The threat of severe thunderstorms will continue across parts of the northern and eastern US each day through Sunday along the edge of a large high-pressure dome that is causing a massive heat wave from the plains to the southeast.
Wednesday’s storms will be more scattered than Tuesday’s storm, which stretches into the hundreds from the Plains to the Midwest. The widespread severe weather event produced gusts of nearly 100 mph in South Dakota and hail larger than tennis balls in Nebraska.
July is the nation’s second most active month for destructive thunderstorms, so it’s not that unusual for a derecho to form at this time of year.
Here’s what to expect from Wednesday through the weekend.
Wednesday
Two areas of severe thunderstorms are expected Wednesday: one over parts of the northern and central Rockies and Plains, and another over parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley in the Carolinas.
Destructive wind gusts and large hail are the main threats.
Thursday
Two areas of scattered severe thunderstorms are possible Thursday: one across parts of the northern Rockies and Plains and another across the lower Ohio Valley into the South Atlantic and Southeast.
Destructive wind gusts and large hail are the main threats.
Thunderstorms are expected to hit the Midwestern states after gusts in South Dakota. The FOX Weather
Friday
The greatest threat for scattered severe thunderstorms Friday will be across parts of the northern Rockies and Plains.
Destructive wind gusts and large hail are the main concerns.
Saturday
An organized threat of severe weather could materialize Saturday evening into Saturday night across the northern plains.
Damaging winds and large hail are the main threats, but a few tornadoes are also possible.
Tropical Storm Colin pummeled the Carolina coast with rain and gusty winds over the Fourth of July weekend. NOAA via AP
Sunday
A continuation of Saturday night’s severe storms is expected Sunday from the northern Plains into the Upper Midwest.
Damaging winds and large hail are the main hazards, although an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.
Drought relief coming?
The high pressure associated with the massive heat wave across the central US will effectively act as a block, with showers and storms tracking along its northern and eastern fringes this week. As a result, multiple thunderstorms could pass through the same locations from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic during each of the next few days.
A large area of 3 to 5 inches of rain is likely by the end of the week, with up to 8 inches possible in isolated areas. Flash flooding is possible, especially in urban and poorly drained areas, but overall the rain is expected to be very beneficial for two drought-stricken regions.
“Sudden Droughts” May Affect Midwest and Corn Belt States in Summer. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Sudden drought” — which, as the name suggests, is “the rapid onset or intensification of drought” — is beginning to develop in parts of the Midwest and Corn Belt states.
In some places there has been almost no rain in the last two weeks and only between 30 and 50% of their average rainfall in the last 30 days. But that should change this week with showers and thunderstorms expected.
Locally heavy rain is expected to reach as far east as the Carolinas, where drought conditions are expanding.
The drought is most severe in the eastern parts of North and South Carolina. Drought conditions actually started there in February.
Tropical Storm Colin brought some drought relief this past weekend, especially in South Carolina, but this week’s rain will cover a much larger area.
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