Science & Nature
Siege of Storms Threatens Serious Flooding and Destructive Winds in Parts of the Midwest and East
A slow-moving front will deliver rounds of heavy rain and severe storms. (CNN Weather via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — Significant flash flooding is possible from parts of the Midwest to the central Appalachians during much of the workweek as multiple rounds of storms unleash drenching downpours.
The stormy pattern began on Sunday in the southern Great Lakes. Heavy rain in Chicago caused roads to flood in parts of the metro area during the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Storms were ongoing early Monday afternoon from Ohio to Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia, with more expected from the Midwest to the Appalachians in the afternoon and evening.
Some of the storms will also carry a damaging wind risk through at least Tuesday. Trees could be downed and power knocked out from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. The tornado risk is low, but one or two are possible.
The most widespread destructive winds could unfold in a complex of storms that tracks from eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin on Tuesday morning to parts of Indiana and Ohio by Tuesday afternoon or early evening. A few gusts over 75 mph are possible.
Just before midnight on Sunday night, another batch of storms spun up a damaging tornado hit about 50 miles southwest of Chicago in Ransom, Illinois. Videos on social media showed damaged homes and a train derailed in the area.
But flooding rainfall is the most serious concern this week, especially in parts of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians. Charleston, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Indianapolis are just a few of the cities in the flood threat zone on multiple days this week.
Charleston is included in a more serious Level 3 of 4 threat of flooding rainfall Tuesday that covers southeast Ohio and central West Virginia.
A slow-moving front interacting with juicy tropical air is causing the stormy pattern. Rainfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour are possible in the most intense downpours.
Such extreme rainfall is becoming more common in a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture that storms can tap into and ring out in more intense spurts.
Storm totals could be 6 inches or more in areas the storms pummel on more than one day this week. Flooding impacts could become more serious and damaging in these locations.
For others, some roads are likely to flood and creeks and streams could also overflow their banks. Urban, low-lying and poor drainage areas as well as the mountainous parts of West Virginia will be most prone to flooding.
The risk of heavy rain lasts into Friday in some areas, but the wet pattern should ease up this weekend when storm-killing high pressure arrives.
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