Severe Weather Outbreak Spreads From Texas to Maine Tuesday — Weather Map
A severe weather outbreak that started in the Plains last weekend was still driving a broad severe thunderstorm threat Tuesday evening, with the weather map showing risk from Texas to the Northeast. The outbreak was expected to ease by early Wednesday, but damaging winds, hail and locally flooding rain remained possible across a wide stretch of the country.
Tuesday Evening Threat Area
Parts of Texas, the Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes, upstate New York and New England could see at least scattered severe thunderstorms Tuesday evening. The tornado threat was much lower than during the weekend, but the storm zone was larger than in the previous few days, giving more communities a chance to see severe weather before the system weakened.
For people in the path, the practical concern was not just whether storms formed, but what they could bring. Damaging wind gusts, hail and locally flooding rain were the main hazards listed for the affected area.
Weekend Reports In Nebraska
The outbreak shifted into gear Saturday, when more than 200 reports of severe weather came in, mainly from Nebraska, northern Kansas and far northern Missouri. Three weak tornadoes, rated EF0 or EF1, were reported in Linn and Livingston Counties, Missouri, according to NWS damage surveys.
Sunday brought another 275 reports of severe weather from South Dakota and southern Minnesota to eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and northern Kansas. The most damaging storm hit Howard County, Nebraska, near St. Libory, about 10 miles north of Grand Island, around 5 p.m. CDT. The National Weather Service rated that tornado EF3 with peak estimated winds of 160 mph, and four homes were destroyed. Nobody was injured because residents took shelter after receiving tornado warnings.
Hebron And Ashland Damage
Another tornado prompted a rare tornado emergency near Hebron, Nebraska, near the Kansas state line about 65 miles southwest of Lincoln. The National Weather Service rated that tornado EF1. Damage was also reported from a radar-confirmed tornado north of Ashland, Nebraska, between Lincoln and Omaha, and homes near Plattsmouth, Nebraska, south of Omaha near the Missouri River, were also reported damaged by an apparent tornado.
Tornadoes were also reported in parts of northwest Iowa and southern Minnesota on Sunday, including near Mason City and Worthington. Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 82 mph were clocked near Estherville, Iowa, and a grain elevator was damaged in Greenville, Iowa, by strong thunderstorm winds.
Monday Reports And Tuesday Shift
Monday added more than 300 reports of severe weather, mainly from the Great Lakes and Midwest to the Central Plains. That set up the last broad round of storm risk Tuesday evening before the outbreak was expected to draw to a close by early Wednesday.
For readers in the threatened corridor, the weather map remains the most useful guide to where storms are active and where watches or warnings are in effect. The system is still capable of producing scattered severe thunderstorms, but the lower tornado risk marks a change from the weekend’s more dangerous setup.
