A stretch of severe weather is hitting multiple parts of the country on Monday, with tornado watches active across Kansas and Colorado while New Jersey faces a different kind of threat entirely: a dangerous heat wave set to arrive by midweek and push through the weekend.
Kansas: 17 counties under tornado watch until 10 p.m.
A tornado watch is in effect through 10 p.m. Monday for 17 Kansas counties. The area includes Barton, Decatur, Ellis, Ellsworth, Graham, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, Rice, Rooks, Russell, Sheridan, Smith and Trego.
Forecasters say the main concerns are the possibility of a couple of tornadoes, widespread damaging winds with isolated gusts reaching 90 mph and scattered large hail. Some hail events could produce stones up to 4 inches in diameter. Flash flooding is also a possibility across the affected region.
Residents are urged to stay weather-aware, monitor local alerts and have multiple ways to receive warnings before conditions deteriorate…