Millions of people in the central U.S. are at risk of seeing severe weather on Tuesday, and the threat extends to the Chicago area on Wednesday. FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel breaks down the forecast on June 17, 2025.
Wichita, right. – Millions of people in the central U.S. are bracing for another potentially dangerous day of severe weather on Tuesday, one day after tornadoes blasted across portions of Minnesota and Nebraska in the Midwest.
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This image shows a massive tornado spinning near Dickens, Nebraska, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook) -
This image shows a massive tornado spinning near Dickens, Nebraska, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook) -
This image shows a massive tornado spinning near Dickens, Nebraska, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook) -
This image shows a tornado in Lake Shore, Minnesota, on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Corey Gerken) -
Strong winds and heavy rain near St. Cloud, Minnesota on Monday, June 16, 2025.
(Tim Wright via Storyful)
The action kicked off early Tuesday morning when severe thunderstorms plowed across Kansas, where a record 101-mph wind gust was reported in Wichita.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch, as well as numerous Flood Watches and Flash Flood Warnings, were also issued early on Tuesday morning.
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More severe weather is expected throughout the day on Tuesday across portions of the central Plains and into the Missouri Valley, which is farther south than where the storms were on Monday.
The FOX Forecast Center said a cold front will continue to plow across the region, and warm, humid air out ahead of it will help to fuel the development of thunderstorms.
Early on, a few isolated storms could grow strong enough to produce giant hail. As the day progresses, storms may group together into a line, increasing the threat for extreme wind gusts.
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NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) placed portions of western and central Kansas in a Level 4 threat on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
This includes cities such as Wichita, Hutchinson, Garden City, Dodge City and Derby in Kansas.
More than 2 million people were placed in a Level 3 out of 5 threat from portions of Colorado through west-central Missouri, including cities like Topeka and Lawrence in Kansas.
A large tornado was spotted spinning next to a rainbow in Dickens, Nebraska, on Monday. Video by Connor McCarty shows the towering vortex, with the rainbow adding to the shot.
A Level 2 out of 5 threat exists from Colorado and Wyoming through the central Plains into Iowa and Missouri.
This threat zone includes cities like Denver, Kansas City and Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Giant hail, destructive wind gusts and even tornadoes will be possible on Tuesday.
Indianapolis, Chicago in bull’s-eye for severe weather Wednesday
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As we head into Wednesday, the same cold front responsible for Tuesday’s storms will push farther off to the east, putting cities like Indianapolis and Chicago on alert.
The FOX Forecast Center said that the severe weather threat on Wednesday will be conditional based on how much sun and surface heating can occur before the cold front arrives in the area.
Storms could turn severe during the morning hours associated with a mesoscale convective system (MCS) across the northern Midwest states that could also dampen the severe weather threat during the afternoon hours.
A video recorded in North Mankato, Minnesota, shows a tornado touching down in a field on Monday, June 16, 2025.
To the south of that, there will be plenty of storm energy, daytime heating and moisture in the atmosphere for powerful storms to develop during the afternoon hours.
There’s also a narrow window of opportunity for supercell thunderstorms to develop, and that threat may be maximized depending on how much wind shear will be available.
The SPC placed more than 10 million from Missouri to Michigan in a Level 3 out of 5 threat on Wednesday, including for those in cities such as Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Toledo in Ohio.
More than 38 million people from Oklahoma to the Great Lakes have been placed in a Level 2 threat, including Oklahoma City, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.
Large hail and damaging wind gusts are the main concerns, but tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
New York City, Philadelphia on alert for storms on Thursday
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By Thursday, tens of millions of people along the Interstate 95 corridor from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast and New England will be on alert for severe weather on Thursday.
The FOX Forecast Center said some rain and storms are possible on Wednesday, but the main event kicks off on Thursday.
An area of low pressure is expected to move into the lower Great Lakes region and upper Ohio Valley, pushing a cold front into the Northeast and through the central Appalachians.
A video recorded in St. Cloud, Minnesota, shows a powerful thunderstorm racing across the city with damaging wind gusts and torrential rain on Monday, June 16, 2025.
The atmosphere is expected to become unstable Thursday ahead of the cold front, setting the stage for scattered thunderstorms to develop. At this time, damaging winds appear to be the greatest threat from storms that develop.
The SPC placed about 54 million people from North Carolina to the U.S.-Canada border in northern New England in a Level 2 out of 5 threat.
Major cities in the region, like New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, are all in the threat zone.
