August 19, 2015 Severe Weather Targets Oklahoma City, St. Louis Into Tuesday Night

By By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist August 19, 2015, 7:00:47 AM EDT

A storm more typical of autumn will produce widespread severe weather across a large portion of the Central United States into Tuesday night.

"Severe storms will erupt ahead of a surface cold front, the dividing line between a current warm, moist, summerlike air mass and an approaching cool, fall-like air mass," AccuWeather Meteorologist John Searles said.

Cities at risk for severe storms on Tuesday include Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa; Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri; Wichita and Lawrence, Kansas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Amarillo, Texas.

Damaging Storms Across the Midwest



The storms dropped between 3 and 7 inches of rain on the Omaha, Nebraska, area since early Tuesday morning.

"Damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall will be the main threats with these storms; however, there may be enough rotation within the atmosphere to spawn a few tornadoes," AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis said.

Travel will become dangerous at times along a nearly 800-mile stretch of Interstate 35. Travel may also become tricky across interstates 40, 44, 70 and 80.

"Even if flooding does not ensue, downpours will pose hazards to motorists by reducing visibility and heightening the risk of vehicles hydroplaning at highway speeds. Airline passengers in the path of the storms should prepare for potential flight delays," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.







"Heavy thunderstorms will push eastward on Tuesday night into Illinois, eastern Missouri, northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma," Travis said.

Cities at risk for a strong thunderstorm on Tuesday night include Springfield, Illinois, St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Chicago experienced a preliminary round of showers and storms early Tuesday morning. Heavy thunderstorms are expected to move into Chicago by late on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning, at a time where storms will be their weakest. While the threat for any severe weather will be low, storms could still be gusty.

The arrival of storms on Tuesday night could lead to weather delays for the MLB matchup between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.

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North of this area of severe weather, a soaking rain will fall from South Dakota into Minnesota. Rainfall could reach 3 inches in some areas.







"There will be the potential for localized flash flooding, especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas," Searles said.







This powerful storm will march eastward on Wednesday and spread severe weather from Michigan to Arkansas.







The system marks the leading edge of much cooler air, more typical of September. Temperatures dipped into the 40s and 50s over much of the northern Plains Tuesday morning.

As the system pushes eastward, high temperatures are expected to be between 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit lower in parts of the central Plains and Midwest on Wednesday.

Just like parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Minnesota during Tuesday, some locations across Iowa, eastern Oklahoma and southwestern Missouri may fail to get out of the 60s during Wednesday. The rest of the region will observe daytime highs in the 70s.

Record-low temperatures may be challenged across a part of the central U.S. on Wednesday night, including Oklahoma City.







Windy conditions will also build in behind the front. Winds could gust between 40 and 50 mph in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as in parts of the Dakotas, Illinois and Michigan on Wednesday.

The strong winds, combined with a soaked ground, could lead to downed trees. Sporadic power outages are possible.

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