Strong tornadoes, hail - Midwest, Miss. Valley severe threat

The severe weather risk continues through today across the Midwest, with a level 3 out of 5 on the severity scale. All modes of severe weather are possible including tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail. Activity has been ongoing since the overnight and early morning hours.

Severe weather is impacting the Midwest and Mississippi Valley today, and the strongest storms could last through the evening hours. The WeatherRadar shows multiple storm cells producing frequent lightning and heavy rainfall.

Overnight and into earlier this morning, this same storm system impacted the Plains from South Dakota to Texas – 140 total severe reports were made to the National Weather Service with four of them being tornado reports.

The low pressure igniting the severe storms is sweeping plentiful and warm Gulf of Mexico moisture up into the Midwest and Mississippi Valley today. Also helping with the instability are temperatures up to 15 degrees above average, thanks to southerly flow.

These storms, especially in the enhanced risk that covers places like Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, Hannibal, Mo., and Galesburg, Ill., are expected to last through the mid-afternoon hours with a secondary round possible through the dinner hour, local time.

Severe hail larger than egg size, strong tornadoes, some reaching past EF2 in strength, and damaging wind gusts of at least 75 mph are all possible with these storms.

We could see isolated storms reach as far south as the Ozarks too today. Having at least three ways of receiving a weather warning and your Weather & Radar app alerts switched on are crucial steps to staying weather aware.

This large storm system shifts into the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Wednesday with as much as a slight risk issued. Weather & Radar meteorologists will be bringing you the latest updates as the spring storm continues its eastern trek.