Stormy Day Ahead From Plains To Southeast

Summer storms slammed several states again Tuesday, with almost 100 reports of large hail and damaging winds sent to the National Weather Service (NWS) from more than a dozen states.

SONAR Critical Events and radar: Wednesday, July 1, 2020, 8 a.m. EDT; Flash flood watch areas shaded in dark orange

A wind gust of 87 mph a few miles outside of Bismarck, North Dakota blew a camper across a driveway, rolled a trailer into a ditch, and scattered other debris throughout the area.

Barns were blown apart near Turtle Lake, North Dakota, the pieces scattered "a good distance away" from their original location, according to the NWS report.

Winds up to 60 mph were recorded in other states, knocking down trees and power lines which damaged homes and cut off electricity.

Hail the size of ping pong balls was reported near San Angelo, Texas.

Today's storms could be almost as rough in some spots, but severe weather won't be as widespread. Still, truckers will have to be on their toes, especially if they're hauling loads through the Plains and Southeast.

A slow-moving cold front in the Plains and a stationary front stretching across the Tennessee and middle Mississippi valleys are the primary features that will trigger additional storms, as well as heavy rainfall and flooding.

Severe storms today could hit anywhere across a large region, from Nebraska and Iowa all the way to Alabama. However, they will likely be isolated, meaning drivers may have dozens or hundreds of miles between severe storms where the weather would be relatively quiet. But where the worst storms do strike, conditions could be nasty for a while.

Some of the cities at risk will be Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; Memphis, Jackson, and Nashville, Tennessee; Tupelo, Mississippi; as well as Huntsville and Birmingham, Alabama.

The main threats will be dangerous wind gusts and large hail. But periods of torrential rainfall will reduce visibility in some areas, leading to flash flooding and potential road or ramp closures.

The NWS issued warnings Tuesday in some of these areas as flash flooding became imminent, or after it received reports of the flooding. Flash flood watches — a "watch" means hazardous weather is possible — will remain posted today from northeastern Missouri to the St. Louis metropolitan area, central and southern Illinois, and western Kentucky. Another 1 to 2 inches of rainfall may accumulate in the rain gauges there.

Isolated severe thunderstorms may also pop up in the Northern Rockies, from eastern Idaho into Montana, in addition to portions of the mid-Atlantic.

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