Severe Storms Hit Oklahoma and North Texas as Training Rains Flood Parts of the Midwest

Overview

• Late Friday into early Saturday, central Oklahoma saw merging supercells that produced several 2-inch hail reports and a severe wind swath with gusts near 60 to 80 mph.
• Thunderstorms moved repeatedly over the same corridor along a warm front in northern Illinois, eastern Indiana and northern Ohio, delivering near 2 inches per hour and triggering flash flooding, including two feet of water over a road southwest of Canton, Ohio.
• The Storm Prediction Center reported active watches and said discrete storms were evolving toward lines that favor damaging winds as clusters consolidated.
• Forecasters linked a 30 to 50 knot low-level jet with precipitable water near 1.25 to 1.6 inches to steady moisture inflow that supports back-building storms and heavier rain.
• Urban pavement and very dry, hard soils shed water quickly at night, so drivers may face flooded roads that are hard to see as additional rounds of storms track along the same paths.