Tornadoes were reported in Kansas and Nebraska on Monday afternoon as a series of intense storms swept across the central United States.
Tens of millions of people from Texas to the Great Lakes live in areas where severe weather — hail, heavy rain, destructive winds or tornadoes — could develop through Monday afternoon and evening, but forecasters had warned that the greatest potential threat was centered over Kansas and Nebraska.
By the afternoon, dozens of tornado warnings had begun dotting the landscape, and the Storm Prediction Center issued a “particularly dangerous situation” watch for parts of Kansas and Nebraska. That watch, in place until 8 p.m. local time, is a rare type of alert that is used once or twice a year when the ingredients for the most dangerous storms appear likely to merge.
There were no widespread reports of damage as storms moved across the region, producing tornadoes, powerful winds, heavy rain and hail. Trees and power lines were reported down in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. More than 100,000 homes and businesses across the Great Lakes region were without power after the day’s earliest storms moved through, according to poweroutage.com, which tracks utilities.
Here is what else to know:
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The storms were expected to last late into the night as they moved east.
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Flooding is another concern, especially in Kansas. Jerod Kaufman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Wichita, warned that after earlier recent storms dropped three to five inches of rain in central Kansas, any more from Monday’s storms could lead to flooding.
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Farther northeast into Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, severe thunderstorms may develop through the evening. They are most likely to bring hail and damaging wind gusts of 75 miles an hour.
This is the time of year for storms like this, but they can be tricky to predict
Thunderstorms can occur nationwide, and at any time, “day or night, throughout the entire year,” the National Weather Service said, but they are most common in the late afternoon and evening during warmer months.
Unlike larger weather systems, such as hurricanes or winter storms, which can be tracked over hundreds of miles and several days, thunderstorms tend to be hyperlocal and short-lived. Bill Bunting, deputy director at the federal Storm Prediction Center, said their unpredictability stemmed from their complexity and size.
Scientists have been able to draw links between a warming planet and many types of extreme weather, including hurricanes, heat waves and droughts. But they are not yet able to determine whether there is a link between climate change and the frequency or strength of tornadoes. Read more about tornadoes and climate change here.
Researchers say that in recent years tornadoes seem to be occurring in greater “clusters” and that the area of the United States known as Tornado Alley, a region where most tornadoes occur, seems to be shifting east.
How to prepare:
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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