65 MPH Wind Gusts Are Just the Start: A Multi-Day Severe Storm Threat Is Building

Millions of Americans are headed out for vacations and other fun pursuits as the summer season kicks into high gear. The fun may be cut short by the persistent stormy pattern that continues to mark the weather across much of the central and eastern U.S. Here is an updated look at the storm forecast for this swath of the country.

Storms to Creep Into the Eastern U.S. by End of the Week

Wave after wave of storms is going to continue to roar through large swaths of the central and eastern U.S. ahead of a heat dome that will build over the same general region by the end of June and right into the long holiday weekend. The stormy pattern is a continuation of what the central and eastern U.S. has been dealing with for the last several days.

Thursday and Friday's unsettled weather is being fueled by a pair of storms tracking from the Plains and into the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. The primary storm threat on Thursday will stretch from Michigan and into western and central New York to the east. To the south, the storms will creep as far as northern Kentucky and southern Illinois. Cities in the impact zone include Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Cincinnati.

The primary threats associated with Thursday's weather maker are heavy rain and high winds. Forecasters are warning that the top wind gusts could reach speeds of 65 mph. Travel disruptions are a good possibility both on the roads and in the friendly skies.

The second storm of the duo will fire up across the Midwest on Friday, eventually making its way into the Appalachians by the end of the day. The line of severe thunderstorms will set up from eastern Kansas eastward into West Virginia, the western edge of Virginia, and western North Carolina.

The focus of Friday's storm action will be on the Ohio Valley. Damaging winds will once again be the primary concern. Large hail could also present issues for those in the line of fire. Lastly, the heavy rain associated with Friday's storm will raise the chance of flooding heading into the weekend.

The volatile storm system will push from the Appalachians and into the upper mid-Atlantic as the day progresses on Saturday. Torrential rain and the threat of a gusty thunderstorm will be the story for some areas of the mid-Atlantic before the storm tracks off the Atlantic Seaboard and into the open waters.

Central U.S. Remains Hot Zone of Activity

The central U.S. will remain the hot zone for storm activity over the next several days. An abundance of warm and humid air will combine with a potent jet stream to support the development of severe weather through the weekend and into the early part of next week across the Plains states.

Thursday's storms will impact more than a dozen states from the Rockies down into the Plains. The strongest storm cells could generate large hail, high winds, frequent lightning strikes, and periods of flooding rainfall.

The threat of storms on Friday will ease up on the lower Plains, giving residents a time to catch their breath. However, it will be a different situation across the High Plains from West Texas to eastern New Mexico and to the north into central and eastern Montana. The busy Interstate 25 corridor will be in the crosshairs for damaging winds and localized flash flooding concerns.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the majority of the storms in the central U.S. will shift to the north. This will translate to a potentially rocky weekend of weather for the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.

A heat dome is forecast to emerge to the south as storms rumble in the northern tier of the country. This atmospheric setup can trigger the development of long-lasting storm complexes known as derechos. A derecho can travel for hundreds of miles on the ground, causing immense damage to those in its path. The greatest chance of a derecho springing to life will be late Saturday.

Some of the communities that dodge storms on Saturday will see a renewed risk of action on Sunday. The highest risk of tornadoes from this particular storm event will be on Monday. The start of the new work week is also when you can expect to face the greatest concentration of torrential downpours, hail, and straight-line wind gusts.

The long-range forecast indicates that it will be an active week of storms across the northern U.S. this week. The culprit will be the proliferation of storms expected to ignite across the northern rim of the building heat dome. These storms are forecast to fire up along a swath of land from the Rockies and into the High Plains, the Upper Midwest, and the Northeast.

A separate complex of storms not related to the heat dome is in the forecast for the Gulf Coast and into the southern Atlantic Coast. Experts at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) will be watching this cluster of rain showers and thunderstorms for the development of tropical characteristics.

As always, we will continue to follow all of the storm developments and update accordingly

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