Storm Prediction Center issues Tornado Watch 303 for parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center issued Tornado Watch 303 at 2:10 p.m. CDT Wednesday for parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, warning that “a few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible” through 9 p.m. CDT. The watch also says, “A strong tornado (EF2+) is possible,” meaning that conditions could support a tornado in that strength range, not that one has been confirmed.

The watch covers southern Iowa, central and eastern Kansas, northwest and north-central Missouri, and extreme southeast Nebraska until 9 p.m. Wednesday. In addition to tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center said the main threats include scattered damaging winds, with isolated significant gusts up to 75 mph likely, and scattered large hail, with isolated very large hail events up to 3 inches in diameter likely.

In plain terms, forecasters said thunderstorms were expected to form in a warm, very unstable air mass, with strong winds at different levels of the atmosphere helping storms rotate and organize. That combination can support supercells, a type of thunderstorm capable of producing tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds.

A status update posted on the watch page said, “THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT CONTINUES ACROSS THE ENTIRE WATCH AREA,” indicating forecasters still saw the risk extending across the full region named in the watch. The Storm Prediction Center’s forecast summary said the setup featured enough instability and deep-layer shear to support supercells capable of all hazards.

The EF2+ wording in the watch is a forecast threat level, not a report of what has happened. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, an EF2 tornado has estimated winds of 111 to 135 mph. A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across a broad area for several hours; warnings are issued later by local National Weather Service offices when a tornado or severe storm is imminent or already observed.

As of the Storm Prediction Center’s preliminary storm-reports page snapshot for the relevant 24-hour period, no tornado or hail reports had yet been posted. Those reports are preliminary and can change as local storm reports arrive and as damage surveys are completed. Based on the material provided by the Storm Prediction Center, there was not yet confirmed evidence that tornado touchdowns or 3-inch hail had occurred.