Another round of severe weather was threatening states in the central United States on April 17 with potential thunderstorms, destructive wind, hail and even tornadoes.
More than 22 million people in major cities including Chicago; Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; and Madison, Wisconsin, were at an enhanced risk for severe storms on April 17. Forecasters said states in a stretch of the central U.S. from Texas up through the Midwest are expected to see unsettled weather, with the most severe risk of "strong to intense" tornadoes from eastern Iowa into Wisconsin and northwest Illinois, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour could also spell scattered flash flooding, especially in places that have already seen accumulating rainfall this week, the National Weather Service said.
The weather threat comes after back-to-back days of unsettled weather earlier in the week that saw reports of several tornadoes. At least eight tornadoes were confirmed in Michigan overnight from April 14 to April 15, reported the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. A tornado in Juneau County, Wisconsin, on April 14 was the state's strongest since 2021, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, also part of the Network. A home there was leveled and the roof was torn off a church in Waukesha County.
