Late-Week Storms to Rattle Winnipeg, Minneapolis and Omaha

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

July 24,2015; 1:09AM,EDT

 

 

A potent storm system swinging across the northern Plains, the Upper Midwest and neighboring Canada will spark severe storms through Friday.
This is not expected to be a major severe weather outbreak, but it could still put lives and property in danger from the Dakotas and southern Manitoba to the western shores of Lake Michigan.
Some of the storms will pack strong wind gusts, hail, frequent lightning strikes and torrential downpours with the potential for flash flooding.
According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity, the severe weather threat includes the potential for a few tornadoes.

This time of year is typically the most active in the northern Plains in terms of severe weather.
"This is the right time of the year for tornadoes in the northern tier of the U.S. and southern Canada with strong winds aloft, hot and humid air building to the south and a swath of cool air to the north," Margusity said.
The vigorous storm system taking aim at the northern Plains on Thursday produced a funnel cloud near Calgary, Alberta, on Wednesday.

TIMELAPSE: Funnel Cloud Forms Over Calgary

The greatest risk of tornadoes on Thursday will be during the evening hours.
Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota; Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, South Dakota; Moorehead, Minnesota; and Winnipeg, Manitoba; are just a handful of cities that could be hit by severe storms into Thursday night.
The threat for severe, damaging storms will shift eastward during Friday. The storms will initially extend from Omaha, Nebraska, through Minneapolis, Duluth and International Falls, Minnesota, and up into Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Similar to Thursday's storms, this second round of severe weather will threaten with winds strong enough to bring down trees, hail as large as golf balls and perhaps even a few tornadoes.
RELATED:
Interactive Radar
Severe Weather Center
Henry Margusity's Severe Weather Blog
As the storms continue to roll along, parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be affected.
Severe or not, every thunderstorm that moves through the region will be accompanied by frequent lightning.
This could turn out to be the most dangerous aspect of the thunderstorms as lightning is one of nature's deadliest phenomenon.
So far this year, lightning has caused more than twice as many fatalities in the United States than tornadoes have.
As of July 22, the Nation Weather Service has reported 22 lightning-related fatalities across 13 states, compared to 10 tornado-related fatalities across four states.
If thunder roars, go indoors. If you are close enough to the storm to hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.

Thunderstorm activity is expected to diminish across the northern Plains for the weekend, but some storms will still stick around.
Many of these lingering storms should generally stay along and south of Interstate 90 and not be as severe as those on Thursday and Friday.
Stay ahead of the storms by monitoring the latest watches and warnings at the AccuWeather Severe Weather Center and by following the latest breaking weather information on Twitter with @BreakingWeather.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski contributed content to this story.