A broad swath of the Midwest is preparing for hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes as a strong storm front continues to rumble east. The National Weather Service’s “enhanced risk” area Thursday stretches from northeast Texas to the upper Midwest. Forecasters say Philadelphia, Washington and other parts of the Atlantic coast could see the same weather patterns Friday. National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Schultz tells WFDL news a tornado watch is in effect for far southern Wisconsin. Dodge and Fond du Lac counties are NOT in the watch area. “The storm prediction center has that area (FDL-Dodge) in what they call a marginal risk of severe weather, whereas some of our southern counties along the Wisconsin-Illinois border are in an enhanced risk which is a couple steps higher.” In Milwaukee, an interstate was closed for several hours Thursday morning after several vehicles became partially submerged in flood water due to heavy rain. Tornadoes were reported Wednesday and early Thursday in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, but those areas saw minimal damage from the year’s first widespread bout of severe weather. In central Indiana, a 75-year-old woman died Wednesday night after being swept into a rain-swollen creek near Indianapolis.
