The National Weather Service kept the difference between tornado watch and warning in play for parts of the Midwest on Wednesday night, extending a tornado watch until 1 A.M. EDT as severe storms moved through the region. Strong tornadoes, 80 mph gusts and hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter remained possible as the line of storms pushed east.
That watch covered a broad stretch of the Midwest, including Illinois, Iowa, Indianapolis, St. Louis and parts of Indiana. The timing pushed the threat into the overnight hours, when the storms were still capable of producing tornadoes and damaging wind.
Charleston, Illinois storm track
A large and extremely dangerous tornado was spotted near Charleston, Illinois, moving east at 45 mph. Loxa, Coles County Airport and Fox Ridge State Park were listed as other locations that could be hit by the same tornado-producing storm, and Interstate 57 between mile markers 187 and 196 was identified as a life-threatening area for commuters.
The National Weather Service said the tornado threat was increasing for I-70, while severe storms were expected to move into Indianapolis and St. Louis in the next hour. The cluster of storms in Illinois was expected to move into Indiana through 10 P.M.
Harpers Ferry surveys
The National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wisconsin, planned to send a survey team to the areas near Harpers Ferry, Iowa, after a large and dangerous tornado warning there earlier in the evening. The office in northern Illinois was also expected to send teams Wednesday to survey damage from multiple observed tornadoes.
That leaves two immediate questions for people in the path: where damage actually occurred and which communities need to keep moving through the overnight watch. For anyone along the Illinois-to-Indiana corridor, the storm threat was not easing at sunset; it was extending past it.
Tropical Storm Arthur heat
The Midwest storms were one part of a larger weather pattern tied to Tropical Storm Arthur, which brought the potential for life-threatening flooding in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Some cities in the South saw more than 6 inches of rain Tuesday, and areas across the region could get another 20 inches before Arthur was done.
Heat alerts were set to begin Thursday for most of Texas, with Houston and Galveston under heat advisories from 11 a.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Friday. Those cities could see heat indices exceed 110 degrees, and New Orleans could see a heat index around 110 this weekend.
