Mark Ellinwood

A trio of fronts will produce clusters of severe thunderstorms today. Most of these storms will target the northern and central Plains, parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, and the Mid-Atlantic. Heat and high levels of moisture will provide plenty of instability for storms to form and tap into this afternoon and evening. While nothing particularly organized is expected to develop, clusters of storms could contain gusty winds and hail.

Storm systems moving across the Northern Tier will provide chances for severe thunderstorms in multiple regions today. A ridge of high pressure settling over the eastern half of the county will boost temperatures across the central and eastern U.S. The northern and eastern edges of this ridge is where most of the storm development will occur this afternoon and evening.

Scattered thunderstorms will continue to produce locally heavy rainfall in parts of the Gulf states through Saturday. A slow-moving cold front should stall late today into tonight as it sags southward from Texas to South Carolina. Along and south of this front, scattered thunderstorms will continue to develop throughout the day.