Tornado Concern in Iowa and Midwest Saturday

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Minnesota and Iowa until 10 o'clock Saturday night. Valid now to 10 p.m. central Saturday, June 9 Thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes will move to the east-southeast toward the Mississippi River Valley. These storms should move at a speed between 20 and 30 miles per hour, steadily but not overly fast. A tornado was spotted northwest of Mason City, Iowa prompting a warning earlier Saturday. https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1005552402991206400 Thankfully that storm weakened as it approached the metro area. https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1005558942619992064 ^^Again, these are previous alerts that *were* in effect for Iowa, not currently. It goes to show that storms can develop very quickly and transition through weakening and strengthening phases. That's why you should be weather ready and prepared! The hail and wind potential for the rest of Saturday, June 9 shows yellow and red areas with the greatest risk of damaging wind and/or hail, with less likely damage in the brown areas. This isn't the only area we're watching this evening! A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 9 p.m. local time for northwest Montana. Valid through 9 p.m. MT Saturday, June 9 These thunderstorms will have a straight-line wind impact, rather than the higher threat of tornadoes in Iowa. Wind gusts may reach up to 75 miles per hour in the shaded areas, while hail may grow to the size of ping pong balls! These thunderstorms will move very quickly, to the east-northeast as fast as 55 mph! Finally, these two areas aren't the only spots we're watching Saturday! There have been several reports of flooding and flash flooding (green dots) across parts of the central and eastern U.S. Saturday. Thunderstorms approaching the mid-Atlantic will drop heavy rain, possibly leading to pockets of flooding. Be aware of your surroundings throughout the rest of our weekend! For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier