Millions face another multiday threat as severe storms target Midwest, East with strong winds and flooding

Kicking off on Sunday, a Level 3 out of 5 severe risk has been issued for parts of the Upper Midwest with large to very large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes possible.

Continuing the trend of an exceptionally active July across the Midwest and Northeast, another multiday severe weather threat is once again targeting the region.

DANGEROUS, LIFE-THREATENING HEAT WAVE BAKES MORE THAN 85M AMERICANS ACROSS 20 STATES WITH TRIPLE-DIGIT TEMPS

Driven by an active pattern on the eastern periphery of a strengthening heat dome, repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms will track from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast through Wednesday, bringing a probable threat of severe storms and damaging wind gusts.

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Ominous dark clouds hover over Nevada, Iowa, during severe thunderstorms on July 21, 2026. (Stephanie Badger)

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Severe storms cause damage across parts of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on Friday July 3, 2026. (WITI)

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Severe storms cause damage across parts of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on Friday July 3, 2026. (WITI)

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A dense fog blankets the East River in New York City.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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A dense fog covers the Queens skyline, as seen across the East River from the FDR Drive.  (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES - JULY 3: Tree branches lie across a sidewalk after a severe storm swept through New York City, United States, on July 3, 2026. The storm caused damage in parts of Manhattan, breaking tree branches and affecting public areas.  ((Photo by Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images))

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Water from the Black River nearly passes a road in Lesterville, MO.  (Katie Poliette-Hultberg/Facebook)

Kicking off on Sunday, a Level 3 out of 5 severe risk has been issued for parts of the Upper Midwest.

Sunday: Severe storms target Upper Midwest

The FOX Forecast Center said hot temperatures and a very moist air mass will result in a volatile and strongly unstable atmosphere on Sunday across the Upper Midwest.

While this air mass will support a very unstable atmosphere capable of producing powerful thunderstorms, strong atmospheric capping will keep storm development suppressed for much of the day, creating high uncertainty regarding if and when storms break through.

However, if storms manage to break through, they will enter an environment capable of producing large to very large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.

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A Level 3 out of 5 severe storm threat has been issued for primarily all of Wisconsin and only a small sliver of Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with the largest cities within this threat zone being Milwaukee, Green Bay, Duluth and La Crosse.

Meanwhile, a broader Level 2 threat puts 30 million Americans across nearly a dozen states at risk.

Monday: Severe storms target Great Lakes, Northeast 

By Monday, the severe risk shifts eastward into the Great Lakes as an upper-level disturbance drops out of Canada.

The same robust air mass driving Sunday's setup will fuel severe storms across a broad Level 2 out of 5 corridor spanning from Chicago to Cleveland, including Milwaukee, Detroit and Fort Wayne.

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Monday serves as the primary transition day toward a more linear or squall-line mode, allowing for segments of storms capable of widespread damaging wind gusts stretching from Illinois into New York by late afternoon and evening, the FOX Forecast Center said.

Tuesday: Severe storms target Mid-Atlantic, East Coast

Come Tuesday, the compact upper-level disturbance moving out of Canada will interact with high moisture values that will be well above average across the Northeast, promoting efficient, heavy-rainfall rates and localized flash flooding.

2 DEAD IN WEST VIRGINIA AFTER CATASTROPHIC FLOODING SLAMMED THE STATE, TRIGGERING STATE OF EMERGENCY

Ongoing morning storms from the lower Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic will clear out, allowing daytime heating to destabilize the atmosphere southward.

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Moderate to strong instability combined with deep-layer shear will drive an organized severe threat — primarily damaging wind gusts and isolated hail — from New Jersey down to North Carolina during the afternoon and evening.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Meanwhile, depending on how the pattern evolves and where the surface cold front stalls, widespread rain and trailing thunderstorms may linger across the Northeast into Wednesday.

Stay with FOX Weather for the latest on severe storms impacting the Midwest and East Coast.