WEATHER ALERT DAY: Severe threat remains near Lake of the Ozarks through late Friday night

An ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Alert Day is in effect for the potential of severe storms that could produce damaging winds and quarter size hail through late tonight.

Storms along the warm front have mainly dissipated after dropping a few tornadoes in Illinois, and now our focus overnight will be toward a broken line of storms across far western Missouri. The most organized storms will track south of Highway 50, where there is a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect until 5:00 a.m. for Camden and Pulaski counties.

Several inches of rain have fallen in the west over the past 3 days, with heavy rain 2 nights ago causing flooding. Flood reports stretch from the lake area to Macon County. 3-Day rain totals are now up to nearly 4-5 inches in some spots in Pettis, Benton, Morgan, and Cooper counties.

SETUP

A slow moving cold front has allowed severe storms to develop across Kansas and Oklahoma, bringing strong wind gusts and hail earlier this evening. We're losing daytime heating and instability continues to wane with time, but enough wind shear and lift will allow for at least a few strong storms overnight, especially across southern Missouri.

TIMING:

A broken line of storms has strengthened across southern Missouri where the strongest storms will be possible through early Saturday morning. The severe threat will come to an end likely after 4:00 a.m., with light rain through mid-morning.

IMPACTS:

All severe threats will be possible, including damaging winds, 1" or larger hail, and tornadoes. How likely these threats are will become clearer with time, but these are realistic possibilities given the overall setup. Given the wet start to the week, we'll also be concerned with flooding as a secondary or tertiary threat.

Make sure you have a way to receive timely alerts right to your location by downloading the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App. The app will also alert you to lightning within 15 miles of your location.