Jun 5, 2008 1:14 pm US/Pacific
New Midwest Storms Could Be Worst Since 1974
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ―
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A tornado touches down in Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 22, 2008 (file).
CBS
Forecasters said the Midwest and the Great Plans could face a series of storms Thursday as devastating as those on a deadly day in 1974 when 39 tornadoes touched down.
Computer forecasting models for Thursday resembled those on June 8, 1974, when the tornadoes in the southern Plains killed 22 people.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service took the unusual step of giving advance warning of a possible tornado outbreak based on the conditions. By midday Thursday, large hail, strong winds and heavy rain whipped through northwest Kansas. There were 1.5 inches of hail in Goodland, Kan. and 70 mph winds in Ruleton, Kan., the weather service said. Rain fell on Omaha and northeast Nebraska.
In a strongly worded statement Thursday, the weather service warned that parts of Kansas could suffer hail bigger than baseballs, 80-mph-plus winds and "a few strong to violent long-lived tornadoes."
Forecasters say severe thunderstorms would form by late afternoon in Kansas and move toward eastern Kansas, Nebraska, northwestern Missouri and Iowa. Heavy rainfall and flooding were also possible, especially late Thursday night in southeast Kansas.
CBS station WCCO-TV reported the southern portion of Minnesota was also on alert for severe weather. An unstable atmosphere currently sitting above Iowa was supposed to move into Minnesota Thursday afternoon. The tornado watch also covered much of southern Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee and Madison areas, and Kenosha and Walworth counties just over the Illinois state line.
In Chicago, serious thunderstorms caused damage Wednesday night. In the early morning hours, storms brought lightning, hail and heavy rain. Streets flooded in the southwest suburbs, and lightning strikes in many areas caused fire and destruction.
Still, the areas at highest risk were Omaha, Topeka, Kan., Des Moines, Iowa and south-central Minnesota, he said.
"We're expecting storms to redevelop and intensify this afternoon, said Brad Mickelson, a National Weather Service meteorologist." The highest risk is central Kansas and the entire central portion of the country. There is a high risk of severe thunderstorms."
Three deaths were blamed on the recent storms.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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