A 1,500-Mile Flash Flood Threat Stretches From Texas to the Northeast

A flash flooding threat is unfolding across a 1,500-mile zone from the Plains to the East Coast this week as heavy rain and thunderstorms target the region. Here is what you need to know heading into the back half of the week.

1,500-Mile Swath of Real Estate in Line for Gusty Storms

Several rounds of severe storms will take aim at the Plains, the Midwest, and the Northeast into the weekend. Residents in this zone from northeastern New Mexico up into northwestern New England will want to be prepared for the chance of high winds, large hail, and heavy rain capable of triggering flash flooding.

The storms are setting up along a cool front that is moving to the south across the Plains and into the Mississippi Valley. The cluster of storms will move into the Northeast as the cool front tracks in this direction. Forecasters are warning that the slow-moving nature of the frontal boundary will increase the threat of a soaking rainfall and associated flooding.

This weather maker has already dumped immense moisture across the Plains and the Midwest. Nearly 6 inches of rain was recorded in Des Moines between 6 pm Tuesday and 6 am Wednesday.

The greatest threat of flooding will impact a zone from eastern Kansas and southern Missouri to the east into Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. This threat will persist throughout the day and night Wednesday and into late Thursday. The hilly terrain of this region will be the most vulnerable to life-threatening flooding.

Wednesday's forecast is calling for a high chance of severe storms along the eastern and southern shores of Lake Erie across northeastern Ohio, the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, and western New York. Wind gusts could be strong enough to bring down trees and power lines.

A secondary pocket of storms will focus on the southern Plains from the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and up through southeastern Kansas and west-central Missouri. This part of the nation's heartland is the most likely to see large hail when the storms erupt.