National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Dangerous Heat Wave Continues; Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain from the Central Plains to the Midwest

A prolonged, dangerous heat wave will continue today in the Midwest and Mississippi Valley, and persist through the Independence Day weekend across the Ohio Valley, Mid-South, and East Coast. Severe thunderstorm are expected from the northern/central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic. Isolated slash flooding is possible from the central Plains to the Upper Midwest. Read More >

Overview

On March 6th, 2017, a line of severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front, marching through eastern Kansas and across Missouri, causing multiple paths of damage. Ahead of this encroaching squall line, several supercells formed, which caused large hail up to the size of baseballs, along with several tornadoes. The most significant of these tornadoes was an EF-3 tornado, which hit Oak Grove, Missouri, and an EF-2 tornado that impacted the Smithville Lake area just north of Kansas City. Despite the widespread destruction from these tornadoes, there were no fatalities; however, there were about a dozen injured in the Oak Grove area. As the squall line proceeded eastward, it continued to produce widespread wind damage as well as several embedded tornadoes. By the end of the night, there would be at least a dozen tornadoes, mostly EF-0 and EF-1, and numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds.

**NOTE: This webpage contains preliminary information and will be updated as surveys are completed and as additional information is made available.**

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Warnings & LSRs Issued 6 March 2017
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