Rounds of severe weather to target midwestern US through Friday

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

July 6,2016; 10:39PM,EDT

 

 

Dangerous thunderstorms will threaten millions in the midwestern United States through the end of the week.
Residents and travelers across the region will want to monitor the weather situation over the next few days.
The threat for violent storms will gradually transition from the Plains to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley through Friday.
Each day through Friday will feature a threat zone where thunderstorms could produce damaging wind gusts, large hail and torrential downpours. A few of the strongest storms could spin up a tornado or two.
The multi-day threat for severe weather can be attributed to several systems riding along the northern tier of the U.S., according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
RELATED:
AccuWeather severe weather center
North Central US interactive radar
Check AccuWeather MinuteCast® for your location
Individual storms that form during the afternoon can merge into larger thunderstorm complexes, which can produce violent weather well into the overnight and early morning hours.
Areas that experience residual clouds and thunderstorms during the morning may be spared by the worst of the severe weather in the afternoon.
Some thunderstorm complexes that formed Tuesday night persisted into Wednesday.

"The precedent for stronger storms will continue on Thursday and Friday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde.
"The next round will move through Minnesota and Iowa on Thursday before shifting eastward through Wisconsin and Illinois Thursday night," Rinde added.
Strong thunderstorm wind gusts capable of damage to trees and power lines could target cities such as Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis; Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisconsin; and Chicago.
Flash and urban flooding will be possible, especially in locations that have already been hit by heavy storms one or more times this week.
Travel could become treacherous on portions of interstates 29, 35, 80 and 90 for a time.
Storms from Thursday night will continue to move on to the south and east during Friday. Additional storms will also erupt. Areas from the Great Lakes to the lower Ohio Valley could face the threat for severe weather. Isolated severe storms could extend as far west as the mid-Mississippi Valley.

On Friday, residents of Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities should be on alert for locally damaging thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening hours. Severe storms could stretch as far north as Toronto.
"Momentum from this caboose in the storm train could take the threat of severe weather as far to the east as the Appalachians and coastal areas of the Northeast during Friday night," Sosnowski said.
The exact timing and extent of severe weather will be refined as the week progresses.