Storms pound Plains, Midwest
Large areas of several states Wednesday were dealing with the aftermath of severe weather that erupted across the central U.S. on Tuesday. Numerous tornadoes touched down in at least five states, with the focus of severe weather fury targeting Oklahoma.
Heavy rain and flooding also were common. Large zones of 3 or more inches of rain fell across parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois.
River flooding, which has plagued portions of the central U.S. since March, was aggravated by Tuesday’s rain. As the Mississippi River surged to near-record levels in parts of Iowa, a flood barrier failed in Davenport and water poured into the city.
More dangerous storms and flooding were predicted for the middle of the nation Wednesday.
Severe weather volley
More than two dozen reports of tornadoes have been logged for Tuesday. At least a few more reports were expected to trickle in as the National Weather Service investigates the event.
It was the biggest tornado outbreak of the year in parts of the Plains, where places like Oklahoma were hit by numerous tornadoes after a slow start to 2019. The outbreak also caps an active month that featured two large-scale severe weather events in prior weeks.
Storms got off to an unusually early start Tuesday, with tornadoes in central and eastern parts of Oklahoma about lunchtime, when the tornado touched down.
From that point through the afternoon and into the evening, clusters of tornadic supercells dotted the landscape from Missouri to Texas. After dark, more tornadoes, including a large wedge that did major damage, scoured the landscape in northern Oklahoma as others touched down elsewhere.
On Wednesday, areas from the southern Plains into the ArkLaTex were under the gun for dangerous weather.
Flooding now, beyond
As has been the story for weeks, flooding is ongoing at many locations along the Mississippi River, as well as tributaries to it, and other major waterways across the Midwest and the South.
In Davenport, Iowa, a flash flood emergency was issued late Tuesday as a flood barrier failed and water swamped the city. Although it was only a small part of downtown that flooded, streets turned to lakes in some sections. The failure was spurred by the Mississippi River rising to near-historic levels. A gauge at Rock Island near the city was poised to threaten levels seen during the 1993 flood on Wednesday before waters subside.
Tuesday’s situation in Davenport was not expected to worsen; the Mississippi River is contained in most areas.
To the south, an area from Illinois to Oklahoma saw round after round of flashflood-inducing rain Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, most of Missouri was under flood warnings as numerous creeks and streams overflowed their banks. In Douglas County, Mo., a 59year-old man, who was apparently homeless and camping near a creek, was found drowned Wednesday after a flash flood swept through the area.
Any additional rainfall is likely to exacerbate the flooding woes, and more is on the way over the next few days. On Wednesday, a moderate risk for excessive rainfall was focused on the DallasFort Worth area, with a lower but still notable heavy-rainfall threat extending into a larger region and then shifting eastward for Thursday.
This latest round of high water should peak in the next few days, with levels falling off thereafter. In many cases, levels dropping still means major flooding into next week.