Thunderstorms could erupt in Midwest alongside cold front

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The howling storm system that dumped more than a foot of snow on some parts of Colorado and is laying it on thick in Nebraska and Iowa has spawned rainstorms along its southeastern and southern side.

Greg Dial with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said Tuesday that warm air from the Gulf of Mexico has kept the snow at bay and brought unusually high winter temperatures to many states. The high in Evansville, Indiana, could hit 69F Tuesday, for example.

The center predicts the chances of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes will increase east of the Mississippi River as the cold front moves east. Dial says they could erupt late Tuesday morning or in the evening across much of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana and western Kentucky.