Severe Storm Outlook Narrative (AC)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
002 ACUS02 KWNS 090541 SWODY2 SPC AC 090540 Day 2 Convective Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1240 AM CDT Tue Jun 09 2026 Valid 101200Z - 111200Z ...THERE IS AN ENHANCED RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN MINNESOTA...MUCH OF WISCONSIN...CENTRAL AND EASTERN IOWA...AND NORTHWEST ILLINOIS... ...SUMMARY... Scattered to numerous severe thunderstorms capable of large hail in excess of two inches in diameter, a few strong tornadoes, and damaging winds with gusts in excess of 75 mph appear likely across portions of the upper Mississippi Valley and Midwest Wednesday afternoon into night. More sporadic occurrences of large hail and damaging winds are possible into the central and southern Plains, and from the lower Great Lakes toward the Mid-Atlantic coast. ...Synopsis... An upper low along the MT-SK border Wednesday morning is forecast to deepen while redeveloping to along the ND-MB border Wednesday night. That intensification process will be driven by mid/upper-level jet streaks moving through the base of broader-scale trough, in tandem with an amplifying short-wave trough. A lead disturbance initially over the northern High Plains Wednesday morning will accelerate northeast into the Upper MS Valley by evening, along with the leading edge of stronger mid/upper-level jet streak winds. At the surface, an area of low pressure over eastern SD Wednesday morning will develop north-northeast into southeast MB by evening, while a trailing cold front advances through the upper MS Valley into the upper Great Lakes. The trailing extension of the boundary from the mid MO Valley into KS will move more slowly through the day before stalling and then lifting north Wednesday night in response to cyclogenesis over the central Plains. A dryline will intersect the front over southwest KS Wednesday afternoon, with that feature extending southwest into western TX. ...Upper Mississippi Valley/Upper Great Lakes into the Central and Southern Plains... Areas of thunderstorms may be ongoing Wednesday morning across portions of MN and WI, aided by warm advection along a nocturnal low-level jet. Residual convective outflow boundaries from the early-day storms and the approaching cold front are expected to focus the most intense thunderstorm development, which may occur by early afternoon across northern and central parts of MN. Subsequent south/southwestward storm development is expected by mid/late afternoon along and ahead of the front from southern MN and western WI through central/eastern IA, northern MO, into eastern/southern KS, and perhaps into western OK and northwest TX. Rich boundary-layer moisture, characterized by dewpoints in the upper 60s to low/mid 70s will coincide with a plume of steep mid-level lapse rates to yield moderate to strong afternoon instability with MLCAPE increasing to 2000-4000+ J/kg across the warm sector. Deep-layer shear will strengthen through the afternoon into evening with the arrival of the jet streaks, especially across the upper MS Valley into upper Great Lakes where effective bulk shear magnitudes of 50-60 kt are forecast. The expected CAPE-shear combination will support numerous severe storms that begin as supercells capable of large to very large hail and some tornado threat, with an eventual transition to a more of a cold-pool-driven convective system with embedded bowing structures by evening across portions of the Upper Midwest, potentially into Great Lakes. Damaging wind potential, including the possibility for 75+ mph wind gusts would likewise increase with that mode transition, as would a continued tornado threat with line-embedded meso-vortices. The greatest potential for a few strong tornadoes is expected to develop with any sustained supercells across portions of eastern MN, WI, eastern IA, and northwest IL in the proximity of a strengthening low-level jet, which will enhance near-ground shear. Storms are expected to be increasingly more isolated in nature with southwestward extent along the front and dryline from eastern KS into western OK and northwest TX. Nonetheless, the degree of instability coupled with around 30 kt of deep-layer shear will favor organized multicell and/or supercell structures capable of large hail during the afternoon and evening hours. A separate large-hail threat is expected to develop Wednesday night into Thursday morning over the mid MO Valley within a zone of strong warm advection and moisture flux occurring within the terminus of a 50+ kt low-level jet. ...Lower Great Lakes to Mid-Atlantic Coast... Forcing for ascent associated with a weak mid-level disturbance moving through the region is expected to foster widely scattered thunderstorm development during the afternoon amidst a moist and moderately unstable air mass. Model soundings indicate some enhancement of the mid-level wind field, with deep-layer shear increasing to around 30 kt in some areas. As such, a few severe storms appear possible with an associated risk for damaging wind gusts and large hail. ..Mead.. 06/09/2026 $$