A wave of severe storms will move across the Midwest and northern Plains through the middle of the week, bringing the risk of severe thunderstorms, high winds, flash flooding and possible tornadoes to the region, while Vermont faced “life-threatening” flooding after rain soaked the state overnight.
Thunderstorms are expected to affect much of the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee river valleys Tuesday afternoon, putting more than 18 million people in Tennessee, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa at a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service. More than 19 million people are also at a slight risk of tornadoes, the agency said.
The Ohio and Tennessee river valleys could see “torrential rain” from a storm complex that moved through the region Monday night, according to AccuWeather.
Thunderstorms hitting Iowa Tuesday and Wednesday could have “severe potential,” the National Weather Service in Des Moines said on X. The western part of the state and northeastern Nebraska could see high winds of up to 75 mph and large hail Tuesday night.
Authorities in Madison County, Iowa, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Des Moines, warned residents that the area was under a thunderstorm watch until 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to a Facebook post. “Winds are blowing briskly and are expected to die down shortly,” they wrote.
At the same time, extremely high temperatures were forecast across the same region, with heat indices expected to exceed 110.3 degrees Fahrenheit in Omaha and Lincoln. The weather service issued an excessive heat warning through Wednesday night.
Thunderstorms could drop golf ball-sized hail across parts of central North Dakota Tuesday night, with high winds reaching 60 mph.
Iowa already saw precipitation as early as Sunday: Dayton and Marshalltown, two cities north of Des Moines, both reported more than 3 inches of rain the next day, the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
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‘Potentially deadly’ floods sweep across Vermont
Meanwhile, Vermont faced “life-threatening” flooding Tuesday after the northeastern part of the state was inundated by up to 8 inches of rain overnight, according to the weather service. Residents in affected areas should “seek higher ground now,” forecasters said on X.
Ten rescue teams in Caledonia and Essex counties have already made about 20 rescues in floodwaters, according to a report released Tuesday morning by the Vermont Department of Public Safety. Torrential rains have washed out roads, creating a dangerous situation.
The Passumpsic River, which runs more than 22 miles through the state, reached 16.4 feet Tuesday morning, indicating moderate flooding, according to the National Weather Prediction Service.
The weather service lifted the flash flood warning around 10:45 a.m. after the rains stopped, but urged people to heed road closures and warnings from local authorities.
Midwest storm system spawns 27 tornadoes, kills 3
The severe weather comes just weeks after a dangerous derecho-triggered storm hit the Midwest, spawning multiple tornadoes that caused flash flooding and killed several people. More than 166,000 people across the region were left without power.
The weather service later confirmed that 27 tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area on July 15. A 44-year-old Illinois woman was killed when a tree fell on her home amid the storms.
Flash floods in Illinois have forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes ahead of an “imminent failure” of a dam and left an elderly couple dead after their car was swept away.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. You can reach her by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.
