Blog

Parts of the Midwest are expecting severe storms to hit throughout the week. The storms are expected to bring large hailstones, strong wind gusts, and even tornadoes. Yesterday morning, there were at least three tornadoes that occurred in different midwestern states, one in Kansas, one in Nebraska, and one in Iowa. The storms were recorded and reported by the National Weather Service. Overnight from Monday into Tuesday, there were at least two other tornadoes going over the Great Plains. As the storms gain power, they are expected to grow and expand, hitting more areas in the Midwest and into the South.

One reported tornado in Iowa went through a seven-mile stretch. It ran through Dallas County, destroying several agricultural buildings. It also, unfortunately, did hit homes, causing some damage to residential homes and their plots of land around them. In Kansas’ Greenwood County, a tornado tore through, breaking down trees and causing significant damage to some farmlands. In Missouri’s big tornado, which hit Smithville, a roof covering was torn off a building and some walls came down in others.

As the week goes on, some of these storms are expected to hit Arkansas and Tennessee.

Hail has been intermixed into these storms, generating a real mix of dangerous scenarios. Iowa and Missouri are at the highest risk of hailstorms mixed with tornadoes. Illinois is also at risk of hailstorms and thunderstorms. They all are under level three (out of five) of storm watch due to their risks of hail and thunder. These numbers come from the Storm Prediction Center specifically.

Storms of this caliber, if they have hail, thunder, and tornadoes, could cause significant damage. Experts predict that we could see hailstones the size of baseballs. The tornadoes, if they persist, could be at an EF2 level strength, if not higher. The risk for the strong tornadoes is highest in the afternoon and evening hours.

With all of these storms, powerful rain is expected to break through as well.

Parts of the Plains are under high flash flood warnings. Some places are expected to receive as high as three inches of rainfall per hour. The average is expected to be around one to two inches. Due to these high risks, experts advise everyone to be aware of the risk of storms throughout the week across the country.