Tornado Central

Severe Weather: Midwest Threat Looms

Published: Oct 2, 2013, 6:04 AM EDT weather.com

Parts of the Midwest are about to deal with a multi-day episode of strong to potentially severe thunderstorms, something most of the country has not seen much of lately. September brought only one-sixth the average number of tornadoes nationwide.
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Thunderstorm Forecast Next 12 Hours

Severe Threat Friday

Wednesday, a developing storm system may tap into an unusually warm and somewhat humid air mass to trigger strong to severe thunderstorms across parts of Nebraska and some of its neighboring states. Large hail and brief damaging winds will be the main concerns in these areas Wednesday (first map at right).
The severe storm potential will ramp up in the central states as a strong cold front moves across the region. This could potentially be the most significant severe weather outbreak in at least a month, with the potential for tornadoes.
Thursday's severe thunderstorms should be more numerous in the Corn Belt, from Nebraska and northern Kansas to Iowa and northwest Missouri, with large hail, damaging winds, and perhaps a few tornadoes. This severe threat is expected to persist into the overnight hours, as well.
Friday appears to be the day of greatest concern as a low pressure system intensifies in the Missouri Valley. Severe thunderstorms will erupt from eastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska into Iowa, northwest Missouri, southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin (shown in the map at right). Damaging straight-line winds, large hail, and a few tornadoes are possible, particularly near the surface low in eastern Nebraska, Iowa, southern Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin. A few severe storms are also possible as far south as western Oklahoma, with a threat of damaging straight-line winds and hail.

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