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65 MPH Wind Gusts Are Just the Start: A Multi-Day Severe Storm Threat Is Building

Christy Bowen

2 hours ago
NOAA GOES-18 Band 16 clean longwave infrared satellite imagery from June 25, 2026, showing the dramatic split in the nation's weather pattern — intense heat locked across the western U.S. in deep orange and yellow tones, while storm systems and cloud cover push across the central and eastern U.S. in cooler blue tones, representing the dual threat of a building heat dome and repeated rounds of severe thunderstorms targeting millions ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
NOAA's GOES-18 infrared satellite captures the nation's split weather pattern on June 25, 2026 — intense heat gripping the West while severe storm systems push toward the central and eastern U.S. ahead of the holiday weekend. (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR)

Millions of Americans are headed out for vacations and other fun pursuits as the summer season kicks into high gear. The fun may be cut short by the persistent stormy pattern that continues to mark the weather across much of the central and eastern U.S. Here is an updated look at the storm forecast for this swath of the country.

Storms to Creep Into the Eastern U.S. by End of the Week

Wave after wave of storms is going to continue to roar through large swaths of the central and eastern U.S. ahead of a heat dome that will build over the same general region by the end of June and right into the long holiday weekend. The stormy pattern is a continuation of what the central and eastern U.S. has been dealing with for the last several days.

Thursday and Friday's unsettled weather is being fueled by a pair of storms tracking from the Plains and into the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. The primary storm threat on Thursday will stretch from Michigan and into western and central New York to the east. To the south, the storms will creep as far as northern Kentucky and southern Illinois. Cities in the impact zone include Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Cincinnati.

The primary threats associated with Thursday's weather maker are heavy rain and high winds. Forecasters are warning that the top wind gusts could reach speeds of 65 mph. Travel disruptions are a good possibility both on the roads and in the friendly skies.

NOAA Weather Prediction Center national forecast map valid June 25–26, 2026, showing heavy rain and flash flooding possible across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, with severe thunderstorms possible stretching from the central Plains through the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic corridor, as the first of two storm systems tracks from the Plains into the Great Lakes region.
Thursday's WPC forecast map shows heavy rain, flash flooding, and severe thunderstorm risks centered over the Plains and Ohio Valley, with the threat zone stretching from Oklahoma to Ohio. (NOAA/WPC/SPC/NHC)

The second storm of the duo will fire up across the Midwest on Friday, eventually making its way into the Appalachians by the end of the day. The line of severe thunderstorms will set up from eastern Kansas eastward into West Virginia, the western edge of Virginia, and western North Carolina.

The focus of Friday's storm action will be on the Ohio Valley. Damaging winds will once again be the primary concern. Large hail could also present issues for those in the line of fire. Lastly, the heavy rain associated with Friday's storm will raise the chance of flooding heading into the weekend.

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update on storms in central and eastern u.s.weekend storm forecastheat dome will support more storm development next week

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