Severe weather is forecast for the central United States as April begins, with threats of tornadoes, damaging winds and hail.
Experts have also expressed concern about flooding through the first week of the month.
As reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a stationary front extending from northeastern California will remain nearly in place through Thursday, April 2.
It is expected that several rounds of disruptive thunderstorms will hit the central states.
The most severe weather threat Tuesday was focused from southern Michigan to northeastern Illinois and then into northern Indiana and Ohio.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center issued a slight risk, level 2 out of 5, for parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley through Wednesday morning.
Damaging winds and large hail are also possible.
For the Plains and Mississippi, there is a severe threat outlook for Wednesday, April 1, extending from central Texas through Kansas to Missouri.
By Thursday, April 2, the threat will shift to the Midwest, with storms capable of producing strong gusts and hail from northern Arkansas to southern Michigan.
Meanwhile, freezing rain and snow will occur in the North, with wintry precipitation in the Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Northeast through midweek.
Rainfall totals from Texas to the Great Lakes and central Appalachians are expected to range from 1 to 4 inches, with locally higher amounts up to 6 inches possible.
