Multiday Severe Threat Over the Middle of the Country

As we enter into the final week of April, Mother Nature will be ramping up the threat for severe weather, with the first round coming Sunday afternoon and evening.

The first of two systems now moving over the center of the country has caused a line of thunderstorms to develop from western Iowa into eastern Kansas Sunday afternoon.  Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings have been issued within this line.

This low pressure system will track northeast tonight into Iowa and Minnesota, and then into Wisconsin by Monday evening.  Temperatures ahead of the low in Illinois and southern Wisconsin will once again warm into the 70's, and possibly low 80's.  This will cause the air mass to become slightly unstable by the afternoon.  Dew points will also be on the rise, so Monday may feel a little more humid than what Saturday and Sunday felt.  A cold front will move southeast after 3pm/4pm Monday towards Northern Illinois.  This front may be the trigger needed to develop showers and thunderstorms by the evening.  While the severe threat will be low, it's not zero.  A few gusty thunderstorms are possible Monday late afternoon and evening, with hail and wind being the primary threats.  Once the front passes Monday night, our storm threat will decrease.

The second storm system that will bring even a greater threat for severe weather over the center of the country is moving onshore in the west.  It's this storm system that will bring an increased threat for severe weather for places like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas Tuesday afternoon and evening.  That storm threat will shift east with an advancing low pressure system on Wednesday affecting Missouri, Southern Illinois and Arkansas.  Northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin will remain north of the more unstable air mass which will likely keep our storm threat low.

Below are the convective outlooks from the Storm Prediction Center for this week.  Definitely a much more active week ahead.

Tuesday Storm Threat

Wednesday Storm Threat

Friday Storm Threat