GREAT PLAINS — Severe thunderstorms with baseball-sized hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes struck parts of the Great Plains on Monday and are forecast to redevelop across the region on Tuesday. A severe thunderstorm developed directly over Denver just after 1 p.m. Monday, unleashing a massive hailstorm that dropped golf ball-sized hail in downtown Denver and large hail in nearby Aurora.
The intense weather prompted a Ground Stop at Denver International Airport, delaying hundreds of flights into and out of the regional hub. Accumulating hailstones blanketed the ground, giving it the appearance of snow cover. Cars were seen pulling under overpasses along Interstate 70, creating hazardous travel conditions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms for parts of eastern Wyoming, northwestern Nebraska, and North and South Dakota, including the cities of Bismarck and Rapid City. The main threats in this area include baseball-sized hail and damaging wind gusts, with a few tornadoes possible if supercell thunderstorms form.
Severe thunderstorms are expected to redevelop by mid-afternoon Tuesday across the entire Great Plains. Parts of North Dakota also face a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood threat. A broader but lower-risk area for severe weather extends into eastern Colorado, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles.
Repeated rounds of storms could bring heavy rainfall to eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, both of which are under a Level 2 flood threat. Gulf moisture is fueling these storms, combining with 90-degree temperatures and a dip in the jet stream to produce heavy downpours. Flash flooding is possible where slow-moving thunderstorms develop.
The flood threat is expected to expand into the Upper Midwest beginning Wednesday. The rainfall may help alleviate Extreme Drought conditions in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, as well as other areas of the Southern and Central Plains.