Threat of Severe Thunderstorms With Damaging Winds, Hail and Flash Flooding Slowly Slides East

Chris Dolce
Published: June 30,2017
The threat of severe thunderstorms will return to the Northeast to begin the holiday weekend with the threat of large hail and damaging winds.
(MORE: Tornado Central)

Current Radar, Watches and Warnings.

Current Radar, Watches and Warnings.

(INTERACTIVE: Radar Loop For Your Area)
Severe thunderstorms continue to move through southern Oklahoma. Hail as large as limes was reported near Boone, Oklahoma by storm chasers.
A wind gust of 72 mph was reported near Lawton, Oklahoma and power was knocked out by strong winds on the west side of Wayne, Oklahoma.
Flash flooding and quarter size hail was reported in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
Strong storms in eastern New York and New England caused tree and powerline damage. Trees were pushed down onto  onto a car and Route 10 near Simsbury, Connecticut.
Early Friday morning, a cluster of thunderstorms moved through Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma, with strong wind gusts reported in southeastern Kansas.

Forecast

The severe threat will persist through Saturday thanks to a parade of upper-level disturbances overtopping an increasingly warm and humid air mass.
(INTERACTIVE: See Your 7-Day Severe Weather Outlook)
Here's a look at the latest forecast details.
Severe thunderstorms are possible Friday night into early Saturday from eastern New Mexico into western Arkansas. Large hail and gusty winds are the main threats, but flash flooding is also possible.
Saturday

• Scattered severe thunderstorms will be possible for parts of the interior Northeast. A few isolated severe storms cannot be ruled out from the Ohio Valley into the Tennessee Valley and westward into the southern Plains.
• The main threat appears to be from damaging winds, but some large hail and an isolated tornado is also possible.
• Cities: Burlington, Vermont | Syracuse | Pittsburgh

Saturday's Thunderstorm Forecast

Flash Flood Threat

• The main threat of localized flash flooding will be with thunderstorm clusters in parts of the Midwest from northern Indiana to northern Ohio.
• These clusters may deliver several inches of rain in a short period of time.
• Flash flood watches have been posted for these areas, and flooding is a concern going through Saturday morning. 

(MORE: Why Summer's Thunderstorm Clusters are Both Important and Dangerous)

Rainfall Potential Through Saturday

Storm Reports Recap

Thursday, June 29

Softball to grapefruit size hail was reported in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa with wind gusts in excess of 60 mph in nearby Sioux City.
Hail was also reported in the Colorado Plains east of Colorado Springs. Golf ball size hail was reported near Karval, Colorado.
A tornado was sighted in northeastern Nebraska south of Yankton, South Dakota. Hail as large as baseballs fell in Yankton and golf ball size hail fell in nearby Vermillion, South Dakota as this storm moved eastward.
Windblown hail was reported in Little Sioux, Iowa as storms crossed from Nebraska into Iowa but no damage was reported.
Further east, several tree limbs were broken in Westside, Iowa by 60 mph wind gusts.
Winds pushed a tree down onto State Route 185 and onto a residence near New Haven, Missouri.

Wednesday, June 28

At least 26 reports of tornadoes were received by National Weather Service offices Wednesday, from northwest Wisconsin to Iowa and far northern Missouri.
(NEWS: Injuries, Damage as Tornadoes Tear Through the Midwest)

Preliminary reports of tornadoes on June 28, 2017. These may not correlate to the actual number of tornadoes, which will be confirmed by NWS damage surveys.
(NWS/SPC)

National Weather Service damage surveys will take place Thursday in some of the affected areas. For a full recap of Wednesday's severe weather, scroll down to our storm reports recap section.
Iowa
A tornado touched down near the towns of Prairieburg and Central City, ripping off the roof of one home, collapsing a garage on a resident of another, damaging grain bins and flipping over semis. The tornado has been given a preliminary rating of EF2.
Remarkably, only one injury was reported from the tornado in Linn County, about 20 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.
A tornado was reported just before 4 p.m. near Shenandoah, Iowa by storm spotters. Hail as large as baseballs also fell elsewhere in Page County.
The NWS confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down near Stuart in Adair County.
Another tornado kicked up debris south of Pleasantville and was sighted by spotters in the area, which is south-southeast of Des Moines. This tornado was rated EF1.
A tornado near Bedford, Iowa touched down just after 5 p.m. Baseball-sized hail associated with the tornadic supercell was reported.
Hail as large as golf balls fell near Fort Dodge in central Iowa according to NWS Des Moines on Wednesday afternoon.
Wisconsin
Significant house damage was reported after a tornado touched down around 4:45 PM CDT near Spring Valley, Wisconsin. At least one injury was reported on a farm in Martell. Multiple trees and powerlines were reported to be downed and two barns were destroyed.
The damage started near Martell, Wisconsin, and the tornado cut a 11-mile path through the western portion of the state. The National Weather Service storm survey team found damage consistent with an EF1 tornado.
An 80 mph wind gust was reported as the same line of storms pushed southeastward through Montfort, Wisconsin. Farm outbuildings were reportedly damaged in Livingston, Wisconsin from these severe winds.
Farther south, near Madison, Wisconsin, a possible tornado snapped power poles and caused damage to roofs near Monticello, Wisconsin Wednesday evening. Minor flooding was also reported in Madison.
Missouri
A possible tornado snapped power poles, uprooted numerous trees and destroyed a bar in Harrison and Mercer Counties, near the Iowa state line. A confirmed tornado touched down in parts of Gentry and Nodaway Counties.
However, flash flooding was by far the biggest impact as storms ran over the same areas multiple times.
Some parts of northern Missouri picked up 10 inches of rain, leading to widespread flooding in Nodaway County Wednesday night. Numerous roads were closed, at least one water rescue was performed near Maryville, and cows were reportedly seen floating in the floodwaters.
Illinois
A flash flood emergency was declared Wednesday night as flooding from torrential rain swamped roads in the Rockford metro area. Numerous vehicles were stalled and water rescues were performed in Winnebago and Boone Counties.
Three to six inches of rain fell in the northern tier of counties in Illinois in less than four hours, according to the National Weather Service. Officially, it was the third wettest June calendar day at Rockford.
Spotty reports of trees and powerlines being downed came in from Lake County, Illinois mainly north of Waukegan.
Gusts greater than 60 mph were reported in Winnebago. A cemented flag pole was bent over in Machesney Park by severe gusts.

Tuesday, June 27

Some of the worst thunderstorm wind damage was reported near the town of Arnold, Nebraska, in the central part of the Cornhusker State. A corrugated steel building was blown apart, an irrigation pivot overturned, and numerous trees were downed.

Local storm reports received by National Weather Service forecast offices from June 27, 2017, in the Plains states.
(NOAA/NWS)

In the western Nebraska town of Scottsbluff, over 1,000 customers lost power and several trees were snapped in half by wind gusts up to 79 mph.
A 92 mph wind gust was reported by a cooperative observer near Callaway, Nebraska, and a 75 mph wind gust was clocked at the airport in Rapid City, South Dakota.
MORE: Tornado Risk By Month

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