Tuesday’s tornadoes brought thunderstorms to the Midwest, just days after similar storms tore through the Central United States and blizzards pounded the Northern Tier. A new, similarly unstable weather system is expected to continue through Wednesday, affecting tens of thousands of people.
On the warmer side of the storm system, a dozen states from Wisconsin to Texas are at risk for severe weather again. Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas are most likely to be affected by winds and tornadoes.
Here’s what to expect across the country.
Storms hit Iowa and Illinois.
By evening, several tornadoes were reported in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. National Weather Service. In Colona, ​​Ill., about 80 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a tornado ripped the roof off a gas station and uprooted trees, the service said.
According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, cities in northeastern Illinois reported destructive, windy baseball-sized hail Tuesday afternoon, and gusts of up to 80 mph were possible along the border of Oakley and Lee counties. . More than 20,000 customers were without power in Illinois power cut. us.
“This is a dangerous storm,” the service warned. “If you’re in its path, hide from the windows!” The hail, about three inches in diameter, was the largest to fall in the Chicago area since the July 2020 storm. He said on Twitter.
Officials elsewhere warned residents of affected areas to be prepared for nightfall. In many districts Illinois And Iowa An additional 3.4 million people were under a less intense tornado watch in parts of Illinois, Missouri and Iowa while under a tornado warning.
“The risk of a rain-covered tornado in the dark is significantly greater than it is during the day, when everyone is out and paying attention,” said John Green, supervisor of Johnson County, Iowa. A few days ago due to severe weather. A 24-unit building in Coralville, about 20 miles south of Cedar Rapids, was declared “uninhabitable.” Mr. Green said. Storm Terrego in 2020 left residents especially on edge, he added.
Weather Service Office Quad Cities, A group of cities in Iowa and Illinois warned residents to seek shelter because of widespread thunderstorms with gusts of up to 40 mph.
According to Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever, voters in Chicago appeared to heed the call to vote early Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s inclement weather. local time, more than 364,500 votes had been cast in the mayoral race, representing a citywide turnout of 22.9 percent, up from 21 percent the afternoon of the last February 28 election.
“Strong, long-track gusts are possible in addition to large hail and damaging winds,” Storm Prediction Center forecasters said Tuesday morning. Some of them are likely to happen at night.
The south faces a cyclone.
By late Tuesday night, severe weather will begin moving into parts of the south. Forecasters said a rare and dangerous overnight tornado and damaging winds will be possible in southern parts of Arkansas and Texas. Nocturnal tornadoes are not uncommon, but strong nighttime tornadoes like the one here can occur.
Meteorologists with the weather service in Little Rock, Ark alerted residents Tuesday morning Be careful for this reason.
“Severe weather fatigue is very real,” forecasters said. They warned that Tuesday night’s forecast, with threats after midnight, could lead to “a false sense of security as nothing happens during the day”.
Forecasters said the timing of storms could lead to “higher vulnerability,” stressing the importance of staying alert and having multiple methods of receiving alerts that can wake a person from sleep.
The upper Midwest and Rockies will see snow.
About a million people were under blizzard warnings in the Midwest and Rockies Monday evening and parts of Wyoming and South Dakota already received more than two feet of snow, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park. , MD South Dakota, North Dakota and parts of Minnesota continue to experience heavy snow, he added.
Winds whipped around the snow, creating whiteout conditions that closed some major highways, including Interstate 29 from Fargo to Grand Forks, ND.
Johnny Diaz And Derrick Bryson Taylor Contributed report.
