Winds gusted to 98 mph at the airport in Fort Wayne, Ind., and 75 mph in Putnam, Ohio. The most severe blasted through northeast Indiana, extreme southern Michigan and the majority of Ohio. The Weather Service was on scene Tuesday conducting damage surveys.įarther east, storms consolidated into multiple bow echoes, or curved squall lines containing strong winds. Some damage was reported, including the entire roof of a third flood apartment removed in Maywood, in addition to a partial wall collapse on North Fremont Street in Chicago. There was radar evidence of tight circulations near Streamwood, Roselle and Maywood, Illinois, and an 84 mph wind gust was reported at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Sirens blared as funnels danced west of town, several of which may have intermittently touched down. Prolific lightning rates, with more than a dozen flashes per second, accompanied the developing storm cell.Īnother severe storm blossomed west of Chicago, becoming a supercell or rotating thunderstorm that prompted the issuance of tornado warnings across the area. The thunderstorm grew to nearly 70,000 feet tall, feeling the effects of the jet stream aloft, which contributed to its potency. On Monday evening, the storms began along Interstate 94 between Madison and Milwaukee, dropping egg-size hail before shifting over Lake Michigan. The storms unleashed winds as high as 98 mph, downing hundreds of trees.įorming on the northern periphery of the heat dome and energized by south-to-north temperature contrasts, the storms drew down roaring high-altitude winds as destructive gusts. The National Weather Service received nearly 600 reports of severe weather Monday as violent thunderstorms erupted in the Midwest and charged southeastward through the Ohio Valley into southwest Virginia and western North Carolina. The heat, intensified by human-caused climate change, could well fuel more destructive storms. The active weather pattern, with heat acting as the centerpiece, is slated to stick around for the next week or two. A dip in the jet stream on the heat dome’s northwest flank has allowed exceptional amounts of moisture to pour over the Northern Rockies. In the dome’s wake, dry air has parched the Southwestern landscape, creating tinderbox conditions for fast-spreading fires.
A stifling heat dome is parked over the Tennessee Valley, bringing exceptional heat and humidity while severe thunderstorms erupt along its northern fringe. The seemingly disjointed atmospheric turmoil is all tied together in what meteorologists refer to as a “ring of fire” weather pattern. Yellowstone National Park was blocked off to visitors due to roads made impassible by flooding. Chicago dealt with hurricane-force winds and probable tornadoes. Record heat swelled from Nebraska to South Carolina. On Monday, the extreme weather was difficult to escape. Nearly every corner of the Lower 48 is dealing with some sort of wild weather, with fires, floods, tornadoes and a punishing heat wave all wreaking havoc.Ī staggering 120 million Americans are covered by alerts for extreme heat Tuesday while half a million customers in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley remain in the dark after violent thunderstorms knocked out power Monday night.