The central United States faces serious weather threats, with tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds possible.

CNN
—

Millions of people in parts of the Central Plains are at risk of severe weather Sunday that could bring tornadoes, tennis ball-sized hail and damaging winds to the region.

While stormy conditions are expected to ease across the central Gulf Coast, the threat of severe storms increases across the Central Plains on Sunday and Monday. About 30 million people in the United States are at risk of being hit by severe thunderstorms on Sunday, especially along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and southern South Carolina.

The main threat, however, is concentrated on the central plains.

“Damaging winds of 80 to 100 mph may occur, with localized extreme gusts exceeding 100 mph possible,” the Storm Prediction Center warned. “Very large hail and a few tornadoes are also expected. »

A Level 4 of 5 Severe Weather Risk is in place across western and central Kansas, including the cities of Dodge City, Salina, Hutchinson, Garden City and Hays. Storms Sunday afternoon and evening could potentially bring damaging wind gusts of up to 100 mph, large hail larger than 2 inches and a few tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

“Scattered severe storms are expected to affect the area Sunday afternoon and evening,” the National Weather Service in Wichita said. “The strongest storms will be capable of producing tennis ball-sized hail, wind gusts of 80 mph, and a tornado cannot be ruled out.”

Parts of Florida’s east coast also face a slight, level 2 out of 5, risk of severe thunderstorms on Sunday. Large hail will be likely, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Through early next week, the central United States faces a growing threat of severe weather and excessive precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

On Monday, the risk of severe thunderstorms drops to a slight Level 2 out of 5 for the Central Plains, and a Level 1 threat extends east to include parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, encompassing the cities of Chicago and Detroit. Hail and strong wind gusts will be the main threats, although isolated tornadoes are also possible across the Central Plains and parts of the Midwest.

“Severe thunderstorms are possible in parts of the Central Plains Monday evening into the night,” the Storm Prediction Center said. “Additional, more isolated strong to severe storms are possible from the middle Mississippi Valley to lower Michigan through Monday afternoon.”

Severe thunderstorm risks will persist Tuesday in parts of the Mississippi Valley, according to the center. Although damaging winds will be the main concern, large hail and tornadoes will also be possible.

Meanwhile, Houston-area residents still picking up the pieces from Thursday’s storms will face a much different danger through early next week: sweltering heat. It’s a stark contrast to soggy, windy weather in Harris County that killed at least seven people, damaged skyscrapers, toppled trees, downed power lines, caused a sewage spill and made roads impassable. roads filled with debris.

The heat index, which measures how the body actually feels, could reach triple digits by next week, increasing health risks from the deadliest weather threat.

Days after the storm hit, power remained out to more than 351,000 homes and businesses in Harris County as of early Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. With increasing heat and humidity, these residents will face heat indexes ranging from the 90s on Sunday and Monday to the 100s on Tuesday and Wednesday without air conditioning. Authorities have warned that restoring power to all customers could take weeks.

“Widespread power outages continue across the Houston metro area. Please take safety precautions when using generators,” the National Weather Service in Houston said. “Also, with high temperatures around 90° this weekend, know the symptoms of heat exhaustion/stroke. Don’t overdo it during the cleaning process.