EXTREME WEATHER: Complex Of Severe Earth Changes In The United States And Europe - Severe Storm, Flooding Risk From Omaha To St. Louis And Oppressive Heat Bakes Much Of Europe!

August 02, 2013 - UNITED STATES & EUROPE - Here are two reports from AccuWeather, illustrating the extreme weather taking place on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Severe Storm, Flooding Risk From Omaha To St. Louis.

A series of thunderstorms will continue to roll along over the central Plains, and some areas will be hit with severe weather into Saturday.

As one complex of storms that brought severe weather to Nebraska Thursday evening weakens over Missouri, a new batch of storms was already bringing severe weather to parts of South Dakota on Friday morning.

This new complex of storms will roll southeastward into Saturday across Nebraska, Missouri and parts of Kansas and Iowa. The storms could reach as far as Tennessee, northern Mississippi and Alabama later Saturday.

Cities and suburbs from Omaha, Neb., to Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., are most likely have disruptive and damaging storms.

While frequent lightning strikes and hail will hit some communities hard, the greatest threat from the storms is damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.

Motorists should expect delays along I-29, I-70 and I-80 in the region, due to localized blinding downpours and excess water on the road surface.

For a few locations, this will be the second round in as many days of strong to severe thunderstorms, including parts of South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

Much of the new rain falling on top of saturated ground will just run off into streams and rivers. People in unprotected, low-lying areas that are prone to flooding should keep a watchful eye.

Never drive across flooded roadways, as only about a foot of water can cause your vehicle to loose traction and could be swept downstream.

The rain is not unwanted in some areas. Portions of Iowa, for example, have had less than 25 percent of their normal rainfall during July.

Areas from western Nebraska southward to West Texas over the High Plains are in great need of rain. Much of this area is in extreme to exceptional drought. The storms into Saturday will avoid much of the drought areas over the High Plains.

Another complex of storms may fire farther south Saturday night and Sunday, beginning over parts of Kansas.

The storms are firing along shifting boundary between unusually cool air over the Midwest and 100-degree heat over much of Texas.

Interestingly, one of the disturbances producing the rounds of thunderstorms over the Plains has a chance at surviving a trip to the Gulf of Mexico early next week. Once in a while, such disturbances can develop into a tropical system.

Oppressive Heat Bakes Much Of Europe.

August got off to a scorching start across much of central and western Europe. A blast of hot air spread across the region allowing temperatures to soar into the mid- and upper 30s Celsius.

The hot spell preceded a storm system moving into the northern United Kingdom. Ahead of this storm, a flow of hot air from the south made for a very uncomfortable Thursday and Friday in many places.

A smattering of oppressively hot temperature observations include 35C (95F) in Rome, 34 in London, 33 in Frankfurt and 38 (101F) in Madrid.

While cooler weather pressed into England Friday, the heat was still on in central Europe. Florence, Italy climbed to 37C (99F) late in the afternoon while Frankfurt topped out near 35C.

This excessive heat continued the trend of a warm last month in much of Europe. Since July 1, locations such as London, Paris and Madrid have all averaged at least 2.8 degrees Celsius (5F) above normal.

Thankfully, a break from the heat is on the way for western Europe this weekend and into next week. Cooler air will filter into the region from the northern Atlantic and bring temperatures much closer to average.

While the western part of the continent cools, the core of the heat will shift eastward to include Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Southern Spain as well as Italy will also remain quite warm.