En esta noticia
The central United States is preparing for a day of strong storms. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center (SPC) forecasts severe storms for this Tuesday, the 18th, capable of dropping large hail and damaging wind gusts.
The flood of the year is approaching for this Tuesday, the 18th
For Tuesday afternoon and night, the SPC anticipates the development of severe storms capable of producing large hail and damaging wind gusts. These are storms that can organize into clusters or lines and become intense within hours.
One key factor meteorologists are closely tracking is morning storm activity: the presence or absence of those first cells will have a major impact on how the stronger storms develop in the afternoon, since they determine how much energy remains available in the atmosphere.
Which areas will be most affected?
The risk area is concentrated in the center of the country, focusing on:
- The central Great Plains: parts of Nebraska and Kansas, where the strongest storms are expected to develop.
- The Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi Valley, including parts of Missouri and Iowa, toward which the storms would move.
In more isolated cases, some cells could form from eastern Nebraska in the morning, with a marginal risk of hail and wind that could then intensify.
Storms with hail and strong wind gusts
To gauge the level of danger, it is worth knowing the official criteria. NOAA and the SPC consider a storm severe when it produces at least one of these phenomena:
- Hail 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter or larger.
- Wind gusts of 58 mph or higher.
- A tornado.
On Tuesday, the main threats expected are large hail and wind gusts, which could reach or exceed that threshold in the most intense storms.