Mother's Day Severe Storms to Threaten Iowa to Texas

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

May 10,2015; 11:38AM,EDT

 

 

For live updates on the severe thunderstorms erupting on Mother's Day, please visit this news story.

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Severe weather will continue to threaten lives, property and Mother's Day festivities across the Plains on Sunday.
The corridor from Iowa to eastern Texas and Arkansas will face severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, hail, frequent lightning and even a few tornadoes.

Anyone with outdoor plans should monitor AccuWeather.com MinuteCast® to stay ahead of the storms.
The majority of the thunderstorms that started Sunday produced torrential rainfall. A localized number of the thunderstorms will turn severe with damaging winds and/or large hail.
As the atmosphere has time to warm and destabilize, the stage will be set for the storm system bringing Mother's Day snow to Denver and Rapid City, South Dakota, to also ignite more potent severe thunderstorms as Sunday progresses.
Such thunderstorms will target places from around Iowa and Missouri to northeastern Texas on Sunday afternoon and evening. The threat zone will also expand to more of Arkansas and northern Louisiana on Sunday evening.
Cities in the threat zone on Sunday afternoon and night include Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri; Tulsa and McAlester, Oklahoma; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Dallas and College Station, Texas.
"Storms that do develop will be capable of producing large hail and damaging winds," stated AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Meteorologist Alex Avalos.
A couple of tornadoes will also touch down, especially across the central Plains.
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Regardless of their severity, all thunderstorms will produce lightning. Remember to seek shelter as soon as thunder is heard to avoid being struck by lightning.
"Heavy rain will be a common concern through Sunday evening," added Avalos.

The heavy rain could cause flash flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas, especially in communities where recent rounds of thunderstorms have left the ground saturated.
Downpours will also create hazards for motorists by dramatically reducing visibility and heightening the concern for vehicles hydroplaning at highway speeds.
The severe weather danger across the United States will not end with Mother's Day, but will instead focus on the corridor from the lower Great Lakes to the Arklatex on Monday.