More dangerous storms are underway in the central US after widespread storm damage there Wednesday

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By Meteorologists Mary Gilbert, Chris Dolce, CNN

(CNN) — A new round of severe thunderstorms is barreling through parts of the central US just smashed by hurricane-force wind gusts, tornadoes and hail on Wednesday.

Storms with 70 to 90 mph wind gusts have already hit Iowa in the first phase of Thursday’s threat, which could be even more significant than Wednesday’s.

A 54-year old man died after being struck by a tree on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a city police news release. The tree broke apart and fell in a homeless encampment as storms moved through the city. The police are working to confirm the man’s identity.

A relatively rare Level 4 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms has been issued for eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and far southern Wisconsin, including Chicago, on Thursday, leaving people hit by Wednesday’s storms little time to catch their breath. Destructive winds, intense tornadoes, large hail and flooding rain are all once again possible with these storms.

It’s the final salvo of an active stretch of storms that has produced nearly 1,000 reports of hail, damaging wind and tornadoes in the region since Sunday.

Wednesday’s storms hammered many of the same areas at risk Thursday and was one of the five-most active severe storm days of the year. A potent line of storms with destructive winds over 80 mph swept across Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan in the afternoon and evening, causing widespread damage and knocking out power to over 400,000 homes and businesses, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 1,000 flights were delayed or canceled at Chicago-area airports, according to FlightAware.

The intense winds also partially tore off the roof of a Chicago-area apartment building, forcing residents to leave, according to NBC 5 Chicago.

Multiple tornadoes struck northern Missouri and southern Iowa when a second round of storms fired up late in the day.

Timing

Thursday’s storms will arrive in multiple rounds, similar to Wednesday.

Severe thunderstorms were ongoing Thursday morning and have produced 70 to 90 mph gusts in Iowa. These storms will likely push east through mid-afternoon across parts of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Damaging wind gusts up to 75 mph are the main threat with these initial storms, but hail and isolated strong tornadoes cannot be ruled out.

A second round of fierce storms will fire up in the afternoon closely behind the first storms in the Midwest and also stretch farther south along a cold front into the Plains.

Some of these storms could become supercells, which are more likely to produce stronger and longer-lived tornadoes. Tornadoes in eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and far southern Wisconsin will have the potential to be EF3 or stronger. This area is also primed to see hail larger than limes and more significant wind gusts.

Storms will largely morph into a widespread line as they track east later in the afternoon and through the evening, which will somewhat tone down the risk of tornadoes, but crank up the damaging wind threat.

Damaging wind gusts of 75 mph or higher are possible in storms from the Midwest and Great Lakes to parts of the central Plains. Winds this strong could easily damage trees and power lines and send debris flying through the air.

Chicago and Milwaukee are among the cities that could be impacted by both rounds of storms, depending on where they track.

Damaging wind gusts are also possible in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Detroit, but these storms may not reach quite the same fury.

Storms will largely come to an end in the central US by late Thursday night. Some storms may still be active Friday morning as they push toward the Appalachians.

Flooding is also possible

The stormy pattern has also ramped up the flash flood risk, especially in the Midwest. A Level 2 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place Thursday for parts of Illinois — including Chicago — Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

Rainfall rates in Thursday’s storms could reach 2 inches per hour at times. That’s more than enough to cause flooding issues, especially since any rain is falling on already-wet ground. Urban and poor-drainage areas are also particularly susceptible to this torrential rain.

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CNN’s Kate S. Petersen contributed to this story.