Photo: Steven de Vet / iStock / Getty Images
Tornadoes and large hail ripped through parts of Wisconsin and Iowa on Tuesday (April 14), causing widespread property damage and triggering emergency warnings as a week-long severe weather threat continues across the central United States. The storms destroyed at least one home in Wisconsin and left many roads and power lines damaged, but no deaths or serious injuries have been reported so far.
The outbreak of severe weather began Monday (April 13) and is expected to last through Saturday (April 18), stretching from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes region. More than two dozen tornadoes were reported from eastern Kansas to southern Minnesota and Wisconsin since Monday night. Baseball-sized hail, and even larger stones, were recorded across the region, damaging vehicles and puncturing roofs. Nearly 100 hail reports have come in since the storms began.
A dangerous tornado near Union Center, Wisconsin, on Tuesday prompted a "particularly dangerous situation" warning, causing significant damage to homes and making some roads impassable, according to Juneau County Emergency Management. The National Weather Service will survey the area Wednesday to determine the tornado's strength.
Millions of people from Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, to Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, were under tornado warnings Tuesday night into early Wednesday (April 15). Schools like the University of Michigan and the University of Arkansas advised students and staff to take shelter.
Severe thunderstorms also brought powerful wind gusts, with Chicago's O'Hare International Airport recording an 80 mph gust and more than two inches of rain in just a few hours, causing significant street flooding. Over 100 million people could be affected as the storms continue to move east.
Flooding remains a major concern, especially in Michigan and Wisconsin, where swollen rivers threaten to breach dams and force evacuations. For example, firefighters in Suamico, Wisconsin, rescued three people from a flooded home, and residents near the Cheboygan River in Michigan have been ordered to evacuate low-lying areas due to a levee breach. The Muskegon River near Evart, Michigan, is forecast to reach major flood stage by Thursday (April 16), which could trigger further evacuations, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists predict another round of severe storms on Wednesday (April 15), with the biggest threats being damaging winds and large hail from Texas through Chicago. The risk of tornadoes remains highest in Iowa, northern Texas, Oklahoma, and southeast Kansas. The threat will shift eastward on Thursday, becoming less widespread, before another potentially dangerous situation arises on Friday (April 17), especially from Oklahoma to Iowa.
The central United States may see relief starting Sunday (April 19) when cooler temperatures and a change in weather patterns are expected. Until then, officials urge residents to stay alert for new warnings and to prepare for possible evacuations as conditions remain volatile.