Severe storms threaten millions across central US

Severe storms are expected to sweep across the central United States this week, threatening millions of people with flash flooding, destructive hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes from the Plains to the Great Lakes.

CBS News reported that severe weather could affect more than 90 million people across the middle of the country as storms threaten multiple states in the Midwest and northern Plains. NBC News reported that severe weather over the next few days will bring destructive hail and damaging winds to more than 30 million people from the central Plains to the northern Great Lakes, along with strong storms for the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

On Tuesday, CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan said up to 4 inches of rain could fall in some areas, with the region facing risks from flash flooding, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes. The threat follows more than half a foot of rain that fell Monday, producing 65 flash flood reports in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, Nolan said.

Flood watches remained in effect until Tuesday night for about 6 million people in the Midwest, CBS News reported. NBC News reported that more than 13 million people were under flood watches across portions of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Montgomery County Severe WX in Tennessee said in a post on X that a flood watch remained in effect until 1 p.m.

The National Weather Service said storms across the Plains could produce “hail, severe wind gusts, and a few tornadoes,” while heavy rain created flash-flooding risks across parts of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys. Forecasters predicted rainfall totals of 7 inches or more in some areas.

On Tuesday, NBC News reported, 6 million people from North Dakota to northern Texas faced risks from straight-line winds over 75 mph, hail and tornadoes. Cities in the threat zone included Bismarck, Fargo, Sioux Falls and Omaha.

The severe weather threat is expected to continue through the week. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center said major cities in Kansas, including Topeka and Salina, could face severe weather through Thursday. On Wednesday, NBC News reported, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Kansas City and Wichita could see damaging straight-line winds, hail and tornadoes. By Thursday, the storm system is expected to affect 43 million people from the central Plains to the northern Great Lakes with hail, high winds and possible tornadoes. The storm is expected to move east Friday.

Tennessee remained vulnerable after recent heavy rain. Forecasters warned that excessive rainfall would continue to carry the potential for flash flooding Tuesday after as much as 9 inches drenched parts of the region in recent days. Near Huntsville, Alabama, just south of the Tennessee border, rushing water triggered a flash flood emergency Sunday. Video showed vehicles partially submerged on a street, and some drivers were stranded.

The latest storms follow a weekend of severe weather that brought heavy rain and strong winds to several parts of the country and left at least one person dead in New York City. Officials said an 85-year-old man was struck and killed by a falling tree in Queens. In Brooklyn, where wind gusts reached 64 mph, video showed furniture tumbling across the deck of a rooftop pool. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department said more than 250 trees were downed across New York City.

Storms also hit parts of the South. In Milam County, Texas, about an hour outside Austin, torrential rain caused vehicles to slide off local roads Saturday and prompted multiple water rescues. In Slidell, Louisiana, up to 6 inches of rain fell in less than 12 hours, causing flash flooding.

In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh resident Tim Broadwater told “CBS Mornings” that strong gusts shook his home so violently it was knocked off the cement blocks holding it upright. “I was scared to death,” Broadwater said. “I thought I was going to end up in the creek.”

NBC News also reported that 19 million people were under heat advisories from northern Minnesota to northeast Texas, with heat index values in some cities potentially reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit. By Friday, the heat is expected to reach the mid-Atlantic, where up to two dozen record highs are possible, including in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Richmond.