Severe Storms batter the US Midwest by Elizabeth Saary
A series of powerful thunderstorms have pummelled large parts of the southern Midwest states in the USA producing torrential rain.
The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings from Texas to the Ohio Valley for the rest of today as the storms move northeast to towards the Eastern Seaboard. Tornado watches were issued for Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
The storms developed along a squall line which is rapidly moving east and northwards. A squall line is a line of severe thunderstorms that form along or ahead of a cold front that is moving into a mass of warm and humid air. Squall lines are quite common across the Midwest states of the US during the spring, and are associated with very heavy rain, large hail, frequent lightning and sometimes tornadoes.
Heavy rain began falling on Monday across parts of Missouri and Arkansas and by Tuesday, around 178mm (7 inches) had fallen, giving rise to widespread flash flooding. Roads were inundated with floodwater bringing traffic to a halt and airports across the Midwest cancelled hundreds of flights, stranding thousands of passengers.
As the storms continue to move towards the Eastern Seaboard, colder air flowing in behind the storms from Canada is expected to bring some heavy snow to the Great Lakes area including New York and New England later today and into tomorrow.
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