Storms could bring tornadoes and damaging winds to the Midwest today

Storms could bring tornadoes and damaging winds to the Midwest today

Areas in the Midwest were expected to see an increased risk of tornadoes, large hail and high winds on Tuesday, the latest in a series of severe weather events to hit the region in recent weeks.

The areas most vulnerable to damaging storms extend from Kansas City, Missouri, to Milwaukee, with the greatest chance of tornadoes and damaging winds in Iowa, including Iowa City and Davenport.

  • Two rounds of storms are possible: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Storms later in the day are more likely to produce tornadoes.

  • Hail the size of golf balls is possible, most likely in areas such as Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines.

  • Damaging winds above 75 miles per hour will become more likely as the storms move toward a line over southeastern Iowa and northern Illinois.

This region has been no stranger to tornadoes this year, including reports of tornadoes in the Chicago Metropolitan area. There have been more than 150 preliminary reports of tornadoes in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri so far this year. Most of these reports occurred before May and June, which is typically the peak period for tornadic weather for these states.

There is some uncertainty about the extent to which the morning storms may impact the storms expected to form in the afternoon. The morning storms could end soon enough for weather conditions to recover, and there will be enough energy to produce damaging storms in the afternoon hours.

The risk of severe storms will continue overnight into Wednesday morning in the Upper Great Lakes region.