50 million people on alert for severe weather from Texas to Michigan
More than 50 million people across the Midwest and Plains are bracing for severe weather on Tuesday, a day after baseball-sized hail and multiple tornadoes were reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas.
The threat of damaging storms has shifted slightly south from where strong winds blew the roofs off several buildings on Monday, including the collapse of a nursing home roof in Lodi, Wisconsin.
A level 3 out of 5 "enhanced risk" for severe storms is in place on Tuesday for parts of Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, far northern Indiana, far northwestern Ohio and southern Michigan. Strong tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are possible for parts of the Midwest on Tuesday, including the cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Iowa and Detroit.
A tornado watch has been issued until at least 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday for parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Large hail and damaging winds are expected across that region.
A level 3 out of 5 "enhanced risk" for severe storms is also in place on Tuesday for parts of central Oklahoma. Some tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are possible for parts of the south-central Plains on Tuesday, including Oklahoma City.
A widespread area from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to the U.S.-Canadian border in Michigan is under the threat of slightly less severe storms on Tuesday.
Tornadoes, especially in Oklahoma, are possible, along with large hail and damaging winds.
In the Northeast, severe weather threat alerts are in effect from northern Pennsylvania to southern Vermont until at least 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.
The storms are expected to pop up in the Northeast sometime after 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday and continue into the evening.
The severe weather comes after destructive storms hit on Monday in parts of rural Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas.
At least 14 tornadoes were reported on Monday across Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed at least two tornadoes touched down in eastern Kansas on Monday. The NWS said one of the tornadoes, packing 125 mph winds, measured as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale and cut a 7-mile path of destruction through the city of Ottawa, Kansas.
The sheriff's office in Franklin County, Kansas, reported that three people suffered minor injuries in Ottawa.
A second tornado, according to the NWS, hit the city of Quenemo in Osage County, Kansas, measured as an EF0 with winds of 65 mph.
Video taken by ABC Kansas City affiliate station, KMBC, showed the roofs ripped off several buildings in the Ottawa area, including a motel in the city.
In nearby Hillsdale, Kansas, in Miami County, the NWS is surveying storm damage from another suspected tornado. More than 50 homes were damaged, according to the Red Cross, which was providing support for displaced families.
On Wednesday, severe storms are expected to be in place from Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City and Tulsa, to southern Wisconsin. Parts of Kansas, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Ohio, including the cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland, could also be in the path of severe weather on Wednesday.
In Michigan, heavy rains over the past few days, combined with snow melt, caused flooding on Monday when several rivers, including the Manistee River in northwest Michigan's Lower Peninsula, overflowed, officials said. Several roads and bridges were washed away in the flood and some homes were damaged by the floodwaters, authorities said.
The Manistee River, near Sherman, Michigan, reached a new record level on Monday and was still rising early Tuesday morning as heavy rain continued to fall. The river has surpassed 18 feet, topping its previous record of 16.9 feet set in April 2014, authorities said.
Residents living downstream from two Michigan dams were advised to evacuate after seepage was found at the base of the Bellaire Dam in Antrim County. The Cheboygan Dam in Cheboygan County, near Lake Huron, was at risk of failing, authorities said Monday night.
Rain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is expected to taper off on Tuesday afternoon, but another round of thunderstorms is expected to bring more rain to the area on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, increasing the flooding threat and adding pressure to the Bellaire and Cheboygan dams.
