Central US faces multiday severe weather threat 

Millions of Americans across the central United States could experience severe thunderstorms and tornadoes Monday night into Wednesday.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to move through the central Great Plains and parts of Virginia and Maryland starting Monday night and continuing through the night, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center.

Severe thunderstorms dotted parts of the Great Plains, and “strong” tornadoes touched down in Kansas and Nebraska. Forecasters say large hail and damaging wind gusts are also possible in these areas.

Monday’s tornado threat depends on the development of large supercells, which are high-rise systems with long-lasting updrafts that can generate tornadoes and hail, the NWS noted.

Some Virginians could experience “scattered severe wind gusts” Monday afternoon and evening, forecasters added.

As it passes through the Great Plains, it could move into the Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley by Tuesday, bringing “severe weather and isolated flash flooding,” the Associated Press reported, citing the NWS.

Southern Iowa, northern Missouri and central-central Illinois are most at risk of “potential for severe hail and tornadoes” starting Tuesday. the forecaster said. Isolated severe threats are also expected to occur in some Mid-Atlantic states.

Harold Brooks, a tornado scientist at the National Severe Storms Research Institute, told The Associated Press that May is typically the midway point of tornado season. He added that the strongest and potentially deadliest tornadoes typically occur from late April to mid-May.

Some scientists suggest that the U.S. tornado landscape is changing, with more tornadoes occurring in states along the Mississippi River and further east, the Associated Press added.