Destructive tornadoes hit Kansas with days of dangerous severe storms to come across the central US

By Meteorologists Chris Dolce, Briana Waxman and CNN’s Hanna Park

(CNN) — A week of severe storm threats across the central US started with a bang Monday, with multiple tornadoes demolishing buildings in Kansas, heavy rain stranding vehicles on flooded streets in Wisconsin and baseball-sized hail battering parts of three states.

And Tuesday has the potential to be be just as dangerous.

Tens of millions of people from the Texas-Mexico border to the Great Lakes are at risk of severe storms Tuesday, including in Chicago, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Oklahoma City, where there’s a Level 3 of 5 threat for large hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes.

Dangerous flooding is also a concern, especially where rivers are already running high in water-logged northern Michigan and northern Wisconsin.

Tornado damage, injuries reported

There were over a dozen reports of tornadoes on Monday in parts of eastern Kansas, northern Iowa, southern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

Multiple buildings were “demolished” after a tornado hit Kansas’ Linn County, Randy Hegwald, the county’s emergency management director, told CNN. A lake community southeast of Mound City “took a direct hit,” but only a few minor injuries have been reported, Hegwald said.

About 45 miles north, a tornado impacted dozens in the city of Hillsdale, Kansas, Miami County Undersheriff Matthew Kelly told CNN. One minor injury has been reported, and emergency officials are working to arrange shelter for those displaced from their homes.

The storm also caused structural damage in nearby Ottawa, most of which was without power Monday night, according to Franklin County Emergency Management.

Baseball-sized hail or larger also pelted parts of southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin and eastern Kansas. More than 70,000 customers were without power in Wisconsin early Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us, after rounds of severe thunderstorms blasted through overnight.

More dangerous storms ahead

Another widespread threat of severe storms is expected to fire up on Tuesday afternoon and evening, from West Texas into Oklahoma and the Great Lakes.

Supercell thunderstorms that fire up from central Iowa to southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois could have lime-sized or baseball-sized hail, which can dent cars, shatter windshields and damage roofs. A few tornadoes are also possible and they have the potential to be strong — rated EF2 or higher.

Strong winds capable of knocking out power and damaging or even uprooting trees are also possible as the storms blast eastward into the evening across Michigan and northern parts of Ohio and Indiana.

Storms in the Southern Plains, including Oklahoma City, could produce damaging hail larger than apples and isolated tornadoes.

Wednesday is expected to bring yet another round of strong storms, but Tuesday’s leftover storms could affect how potent the threat becomes — the longer they stick around, the less time the sun has to heat the air and provide energy for new storms. Either way, wind damage and hail appear to be the biggest concerns rather than tornadoes.

And that’s not the end of this daily onslaught.

One more surge of jet stream energy will fire up a final round of potent thunderstorms on Friday, especially from Oklahoma to Iowa. Strong tornadoes and destructive hail and winds are all on the table.

This system could produce one final burst of severe storms on Saturday in the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. The storm-weary central US will then finally get a multi-day breather starting Sunday because a weather pattern change that will also usher in a temperature drop.

Flooding woes hit the Great Lakes

Flood watches are in effect for more than 3.5 million across northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, where multiple rounds of rainfall this week could aggravate ongoing river flooding and send more rivers surging.

Significant street flooding has stranded vehicles and shut down several roads across central Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service.

Authorities are urging residents near the Cheboygan County Lock and Dam in Michigan to prepare for possible evacuations as the dam’s water levels have risen due to melting snow and recent heavy rain.

Residents should prepare a “go-bag” with essentials, review evacuation plans with family members and be ready to act, the sheriff’s office said Monday.

“Water levels remain unpredictable,” the sheriff’s office noted in a post showing potential flooding projections. The areas at risk are along the Cheboygan River.

Water levels had reached 7.68 inches from the top of the dam as of 7 a.m. Tuesday. An evacuation order would be triggered if water levels reach an inch below the top, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Flash flood warnings are in effect following water releases from the Tippy Dam on the Manistee River and thee Mio Dam on the Au Sable River in northern Michigan. Locations downstream from both dams “should be prepared for flooding,” the alerts said.

The Muskegon River near Evart, Michigan, is forecast to hit major flood stage — 14 feet — by Wednesday. Subdivisions along the river upstream from the town would see major flooding at that level and it could trigger “significant evacuations,” according to the National Weather Service.

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Meteorologist Dakota Smith contributed to this report.