Severe Weather to Kick Off April in Omaha, Kansas City

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

March 29,2015; 11:04PM,EDT

 

 

It is no joke that severe weather will take aim at the central Plains on Wednesday, April Fools' Day.
After isolated gusty and drenching thunderstorms rattle Oklahoma and Arkansas on a couple of occasions in the final days of March, a more widespread severe weather danger will target the central Plains on Wednesday.
Omaha and Hastings, Nebraska; Topeka and Emporia, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Des Moines, Iowa, are among the communities at risk for thunderstorms capable of unleashing large hail and damaging winds.
A tornado or two could also touch down.

"I think that a line of storms will develop and become severe across central Nebraska and northwestern Iowa Wednesday afternoon," stated AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Meteorologist Alex Avalos.
Severe thunderstorms should also fire northward to Mankato, Minnesota.
"That [line of severe weather] will move southeast and threaten Kansas City, Topeka, even Emporia and points east in Kansas overnight Wednesday," Avalos continued.
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Other cities in the threat zone Wednesday night include Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Kirksville, Missouri.
"The severe weather will weaken early Thursday morning before daybreak and before it reaches Springfield, Missouri," added Avalos.
Fueling the impending severe weather will be the warmth set to build across the Plains at midweek. April is set to start with highs in the 80s throughout a large part of the central Plains.
A cold front slicing into this warmth will trigger the violent thunderstorms.
Avalos added that an end to the severe weather risk for this week will not come when the potent thunderstorms diminish early Thursday morning.
"I do see severe weather potentially in eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas and southern Missouri late Thursday."
Wednesday is likely to be worse in terms of severe weather coverage than Thursday, but it only takes one violent thunderstorm to cause damage and/or bodily harm.