Central US Braces for Another Round of Severe Weather

Areas of the Central United States still recovering from severe storms last month face a threat of more severe weather this week, with heavy rain, flooding and hail forecast through the middle of the week.

The National Weather Service said widespread regions of heavy rains and severe weather will threaten the Southern to Central Plains into the Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi Valley regions. The storm system began Monday and is expected to continue through Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Southern to Central High Plains face a threat of high winds and large hail with a lesser threat of tornadoes on Tuesday, NWS said. A greatest threat of flooding will be felt from north Texas, across central to eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, and Missouri where soils are more saturated from recent heavy rains, the agency said.

Meteorologists at AccuWeather said a strengthening jet stream combined with warm, humid air from the Gulf will enhance storm development, and a cold front colliding with this unstable air mass will further intensify thunderstorm activity across the central and eastern U.S.

NWS forecasts heavy rain, flooding and severe weather threat to shift eastward during the day on Tuesday, into Tuesday night. By Wednesday the storm system will be over the Middle Mississippi Valley, ,moving southwest into the Lower Missouri Valley and eastern portions of the Central and Southern Plains.

The risk of severe storms will advance into the Northeast on Thursday, AccuWeather said, bringing the threat of severe thunderstorms across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.

The Central U.S. experienced a multiday severe storm outbreak in mid-May that caused an estimated $9 billion to $11 billion in total damages and economic loss, according to an AccuWeather preliminary estimate.

At least 28 people died were killed by the storms, with most of the fatalities occurring in Kentucky and Missouri. More than 60 others were injured.

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