Destructive tornadoes hit Kansas with days of dangerous severe storms to come across the central US
CNN
By Meteorologists Chris Dolce, Briana Waxman and CNN’s Hanna Park and Kate S. Petersen
(CNN) — A week of severe storm threats across the central US started with a bang Monday, with multiple tornadoes demolishing buildings in Kansas, heavy rain stranding vehicles on flooded streets in Wisconsin and baseball-sized hail battering parts of three states.
And Tuesday has the potential to be just as dangerous.
Tens of millions of people from the Texas-Mexico border to the Great Lakes are at risk of severe storms Tuesday, including in Chicago; Milwaukee; Des Moines, Iowa; and Oklahoma City, where there’s a Level 3 of 5 threat for large to giant hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes.
A tornado watch is in effect for more than three million people in northern Texas, central Oklahoma and southeast Kansas until 11 p.m. CT as severe thunderstorms have already begun to fire up in the southern portion of the watch area on Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
Some of the supercell thunderstorms that bubble up in this area could produce tornadoes, with the highest likelihood of them occurring around sunset Tuesday.
Dangerous flooding is also a concern, especially where rivers are already running high in water-logged northern Michigan and in Wisconsin, where dams are also at risk of failing.
Tornado damage, injuries reported
There were over a dozen reports of tornadoes on Monday in parts of eastern Kansas, northern Iowa, southern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.
A tornado damaged about 100 structures, including barns, residences and businesses, in Miami County, Kansas, Undersheriff Matthew Kelly said. Around 50 to 60 of the structures were “completely destroyed” or significantly damaged, he said. Much of the damage was centered in the town of Hillsdale, Kelly said. Based on that damage, the twister has been preliminarily rated an EF2 with winds up to 115 mph, according to the weather service.
Despite the destruction, no one is believed to be missing, and only one minor injury was reported. Crews searched impacted properties throughout the night and then again in the daylight, Kelly said.
He estimates 50 to 60 county residents were displaced by storm damage, but only one person stayed at the emergency storm shelter Monday night.
Multiple buildings were “demolished” after a tornado hit Kansas’ Linn County, Randy Hegwald, the county’s emergency management director, told CNN. A lake community southeast of Mound City “took a direct hit,” but only a few minor injuries have been reported, Hegwald said.
The storm also caused structural damage in nearby Ottawa, most of which was without power Monday night, according to Franklin County Emergency Management.
Hail the size of a baseball or larger also pelted parts of southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin and eastern Kansas. More than 70,000 customers were without power in Wisconsin early Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us, after rounds of severe thunderstorms blasted through overnight. As of 4:45 p.m. CT, that number dropped to over 11,000 without power in Wisconsin.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a verbal disaster declaration Tuesday “to ensure resources are available for counties as they recover.”
More dangerous storms ahead
Another widespread threat of severe storms is expected on Tuesday afternoon and evening, from West Texas into Oklahoma and the Great Lakes.
Supercell thunderstorms that fire up from central Iowa to southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois could drop hail up to the size of softballs, which can cause major damage to vehicles and roofs. Several tornadoes are also possible and they have the potential to be strong to intense — rated EF2 to EF3 or higher.
Strong winds capable of knocking out power and damaging or even uprooting trees are also possible as the storms blast eastward into the evening across Michigan and northern parts of Ohio and Indiana.
Storms in the Southern Plains, including Oklahoma City, could produce damaging hail larger than apples and isolated tornadoes.
Wednesday is expected to bring yet another round of strong storms, but wind damage and hail, rather than tornadoes, appear to be the biggest concerns in most areas. Far northern Texas, Oklahoma and southeast Kansas have the highest chance at seeing severe storms that are more impactful, but the risk zone extends as far north as the Upper Mississippi Valley.
And that’s not the end of this daily onslaught.
One more surge of jet stream energy will fire up a final round of potent thunderstorms on Friday, especially from Oklahoma to Iowa. Strong tornadoes and destructive hail and winds are all on the table.
This system could produce one final burst of severe storms on Saturday in the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. The storm-weary central US will then finally get a multi-day breather starting Sunday because of a weather pattern change that will also usher in a temperature drop.
Flooding woes hit the Great Lakes
Multiple rounds of rainfall this week could cause flash flooding and aggravate ongoing river flooding in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The region is water-logged after seeing one of its wettest starts to spring on record. Melting snow has worsened the flooding in northern parts of Michigan and Wisconsin.
Another round of rain that’s expected to arrive Tuesday night has prompted a Level 2 of 4 threat of flash flooding for southeast Wisconsin and southern Michigan, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Firefighters in Suamico, Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay, rescued three people from a flooded home as water levels continued to rise, a Tuesday morning post from the fire department stated.
In Waupaca County, Wisconsin, concerns about the potential failure of the Big Falls Dam have prompted preventative evacuations in multiple communities downstream from the dam to the city of New London, county Emergency Management Director Zachary Van Asten told CNN.
The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood warning Tuesday morning for areas along the Little Wolf River and other streams and drainages downstream, citing the dam’s “imminent failure.”
The dam has not failed and has been fortified with sandbags and rocks to help prevent water from moving around it, Van Asten said.
Big Falls isn’t the only dam at risk: All the dam reservoirs in the county are full and being actively monitored, according to Van Asten. “Our rivers are all at flood stage level right now, so we have water all over the place,” he said.
In Cheboygan, Michigan, authorities have issued a notice to evacuate low areas along the Cheboygan River due to a levee breach of the Little Black River Watershed, telling residents to travel south of the city, according to the sheriff’s office.
The evacuation notice is “unrelated to current activities” at the Cheboygan County Lock and Dam, the sheriff said, where water levels continued to rise as authorities told residents to prepare for possible evacuations in the area.
Water levels had reached 7.08 inches from the top of the dam as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, up several inches from the day before. An evacuation order would be triggered if water levels reach an inch below the top, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
On Monday, the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office said residents should prepare a “go-bag” with essentials, review evacuation plans with family members and be ready to act. “Water levels remain unpredictable,” the sheriff’s office noted Monday afternoon in a post showing potential flooding projections. The areas at risk are along the Cheboygan River.
Major flooding is ongoing or forecast develop this week at nearly a dozen locations along rivers in Michigan and Wisconsin.
One of those is the Manistee River near Sherman, Michigan, which was above its record flood stage by more than a foot on Tuesday.
The Muskegon River near Evart, Michigan, is forecast to hit major flood stage — 14 feet — by Thursday. Subdivisions along the river upstream from the town would see major flooding at that level and it could trigger evacuations, according to the National Weather Service.
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CNN Meteorologist Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
