Severe weather to target Texas to Illinois into Wednesday night

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

May 11,2016; 11:07PM,EDT

 

 

Widespread severe weather and incidents of flash flooding will continue to erupt across portions of the central United States into Wednesday evening.
The severe weather threat Tuesday focused on three regions across the nation, including central Texas, the central Plains and across Kentucky and surrounding states. Wednesday's threat will be mainly focused from the southern Plains to the middle part of the Mississippi Valley.
One round of storms produced flooding downpours, strong winds, hail and frequent lightning strikes in eastern Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, northwestern Missouri and southwestern Iowa during Wednesday morning. These storms will continue to move eastward, while more storms erupt into Wednesday evening.

"Storms will fire into Wednesday evening from Texas into Iowa and Illinois, threatening cities such as Dallas; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; and Champaign, Illinois," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
One cluster of storms pummeled the St. Louis area with very large hail during the early afternoon hours.
"The main threats in most storms will be large hail, damaging winds and flooding downpours," Pydynowski said. "But farther north, there could be an enhanced tornado threat across portions of Missouri, Iowa and Illinois."
RELATED:
5 essential safety steps to take before severe weather hits
The difference between tornado watches and warnings
Map: Track severe storm, tornado warnings
Those with any outdoor activities will need to keep an eye to the sky and seek shelter should a storm approach the area. If you hear thunder, you are at risk for being struck by lightning.
Travel could be dangerous across parts of interstates 20, 30, 40, 55 and 70.
Repeating storms produced life-threatening flash flooding from south of Bowling Green, Kentucky to west of Knoxville, Tennessee for a time on Wednesday.
A few locally heavy, gusty storms can reignite in these states, as well as erupt in parts of the Carolinas and northern Georgia into the evening hours.
The clash of warm, moist air surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico and dry, cooler air advancing eastward from the Intermountain West are the key ingredients for severe thunderstorms to develop.
While additional thunderstorms will occur through the end of the week, Wednesday could be the final day of widespread severe weather outbreak across the central United States.
From Saturday through Tuesday, over 700 reports of severe weather occurred across the nation, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Of the reports, over 70 were either observed tornadoes or damage that may have been caused by a tornado. Crews will continue to investigate and categorize the storm damage in the coming days.
Some of the tornadoes took lives and caused total destruction in some communities.
The storm producing the severe weather will shift eastward and affect areas from the lower Great Lakes to Texas on Thursday.
Eventually, this storm will bring more rain and thunderstorms to the East Coast.