Severe Storm Clusters Bring 60–80 mph Gusts and Flash‑Flood Risk to Northern Plains

Overview

• Early Thursday, multiple Severe Thunderstorm Watches remained in effect across the northern Plains as organized clusters and mesoscale convective systems moved east‑southeast into Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and parts of Kansas and Missouri.
• The Storm Prediction Center warned of short‑term pockets of damaging straight‑line winds of 60–80 mph in west‑central Minnesota and other corridors where bowing segments and rear inflow jets have formed.
• SPC and MRMS analyses identified isolated areas of very large hail, with cores capable of producing hail around 1.5–2.5 inches reported in northeast Wyoming and north‑central South Dakota.
• The Weather Prediction Center highlighted likely flash flooding from training heavy rain with hourly rates of 1–2 inches and storm totals of 2–4+ inches expected across parts of the Dakotas and western/central Minnesota and expanding into southern Nebraska, northern Kansas and the Missouri River Valley.
• Forecasters say rapid changes in storm mode and placement are driven by high MLCAPE, steep lapse rates, an elevated mixed layer and a nocturnal low‑level jet, and they urged residents to follow local warnings because saturated soils raise runoff and river‑basin flood risk.