Overview
- Renewed thunderstorms, which intensified Wednesday, produced very large hail and a tornado in Clinton, Missouri, as watches stretched from the Plains into the Great Lakes.
- Early Thursday, the Weather Prediction Center and local offices highlighted flash flooding near the Wisconsin–Illinois border, with flood watches posted for Chicago and southeast Wisconsin.
- National Weather Service teams launched assessments after confirmed tornadoes, including a preliminary EF3 near Union Center, Wisconsin, that damaged homes but caused no reported injuries.
- Michigan and Wisconsin officials declared emergencies as high rivers strained dams and forced evacuations, with crews working to prevent failures at structures such as the Cheboygan Lock and Dam.
- The Storm Prediction Center projects another severe round into Friday from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, then a cooler, drier weekend that should ease cleanup and lower short‑term storm risk.