By Alex Sosnowski
AccuWeather.com
The risk of severe thunderstorms, including a few tornadoes, will continue over the central United States and will begin to shift eastward and expand northward on Thursday and Thursday night.
Following violent storms from Wednesday, thunderstorms on Thursday will stretch from northeastern Texas to southern Wisconsin, lower Michigan and southwestern Ontario and include the metro areas of Chicago and St. Louis. The storms have the potential to be severe within this swath, home to approximately 60 million people.
Other cities that have the potential to be hit by damaging, dangerous and disruptive storms on Thursday include Louisville, Milwaukee; Indianapolis; Cincinnati; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Dallas.
In addition to the dangerous aspect of the storms, travel disruptions ranging from blinding rain and flooded roadways to flight delays and cancellations are likely. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. People should allow extra time to get to their destinations and never attempt to drive through flooded roadways.
Heavy, gusty and locally severe thunderstorms are likely to continue to push eastward on Friday, venturing east of the Appalachians and approaching the Atlantic coast. The risk will extend southward to the central and western Gulf coast. Some storms will produce damaging winds and hail.
Alex Sosnowski is senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com