Damaging Thunderstorms Pepper Nation's Midsection, Northern-Tier | WeatherBug
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Damaging Thunderstorms Pepper Nation's Midsection, Northern-Tier

July 6, 2022
UPDATED by WeatherBug Meteorologists
There is no shortage of severe weather headaches to go around from Montana to the Upper Midwest and Ohio Valley tonight. Large hail and destructive wind gusts will be the biggest risks, although a tornado or two will be possible.

An organized thunderstorm complex with a long history of damaging wind gusts near 95 mph is plowing across Iowa and will likely reach into northern Illinois tonight. Additional robust thunderstorms have been peppering southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois as well, while another cluster of strong thunderstorms has manifested across northeastern Indiana to central Ohio. All this activity has been circulating around a large bubble of high pressure located across the Lower Mississippi Valley.

The government’s Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk for dangerous severe weather across a small part of eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois. Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Dubuque, Iowa, and Moline, Ill., are included. Here, isolated damaging wind gusts up to 80 mph will be possible in addition to a few incidents of large hail.

Severe Thunderstorm Watches stretch from southern and eastern Iowa to southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and far northwestern Indiana. Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa, and Rockford, and Chicago, Ill., are just a few cities included in these watch boxes.

Meanwhile, only a select few robust thunderstorms are left northwest of Interstate 94 in Montana. A few more instances of gusty winds are possible here.

In totality, the government’s Storm Prediction Center has maintained a Slight Risk for severe weather from eastern Montana to far western Ohio. Cities such as Glasgow, Mont., Omaha, Neb., Peoria and Chicago, Ill., to Indianapolis, and Louisville, Ky., are included.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in place for eastern Montana, including Glasgow.

So far today, there have been more than 65 severe weather reports, including 4-inch hail in Promise, S.D., while a gust of 91 mph was clocked near Agar, S.D. Huron Regional Airport in South Dakota measured an incredible gust of 96 mph this afternoon, while a gust of 87 mph was measured near Ree Heights, S.D.
 
If you need to be outside today, you will need to keep a keen eye on the sky and monitor for any rapidly changing cloud cover. Be aware that lightning is one of Mother Nature’s number one killers. If you are close enough to a thunderstorm to hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning, even if the sun is still shining.
 
Be sure to understand the difference between severe thunderstorm or tornado watches and warnings. When a watch is issued, then conditions are favorable for dangerous weather. When a warning is issued, it means that dangerous weather has already been observed and is imminent in your location, and you should take immediate action to protect life and property.