Deadly severe weather outbreak heading east could cause 'ring of fire'
The three people were killed on June 20 in rural Enderlin, North Dakota, in the southeastern part of the state, according the Cass County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to reports of tornado damage at a home there at about 11:40 p.m., and when they arrived, the fire department told them that storm chasers had located two of the victims. A third person was found dead at another location, the sheriff's office said.
The severe storms swept through parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota on June 20, with high winds, hail and multiple reported tornadoes. The National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, said a wind gust of 101 mph was recorded at the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network station northwest of Linton.
Tornadoes caused damage to homes and hail was measured at over 3.5 inches in diameter, preliminary reports to the Storm Prediction Center said. Wind gusts downed trees and power lines, the reports said. More than 75,000 people were without power across North Dakota and Minnesota the morning of June 21, according to USA TODAY's power outage tracker.
The same complex of storms that originated in North Dakota is expected to move eastward through the Great Lakes region during the day on June 21 and into New York and New England by night, the National Weather Service said. The storms could bring localized flash flooding, strong wind gusts and hail.
The storms come as much of the nation is undergoing a "significant and extremely dangerous heat wave" into next week, according to the weather service. Groups of thunderstorms expected to form on the edges of the dome of hot air will have a "ring of fire" effect, according to AccuWeather. Thunderstorms tend to erupt on the edges of a heat dome because high pressure is weakest in these areas, the outlet reported.
The storm system could evolve into a derecho, a damaging wind event that spans hundreds of miles, AccuWeather reported. A derecho is also known as an "inland hurricane."
Meanwhile, more than 150 million Americans were under some kind of advisory or warning for dangerous heat across much of the eastern half of the country.
HEAT WAVE: Summer 2025 brings killer heat. Here are some surprising ways to stay safe.
Temperatures on June 21 are expected to meet or exceed 90 degrees in parts of over two dozen states, according to the weather service. Triple digits are expected in parts of Kansas, Nebraska and southwestern Minnesota. The heat wave is expected to last several days and extend eastward, with major cities along the East Coast including New York and Washington, D.C., expected to top 90 for five to seven consecutive days.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deadly severe weather in Enderlin, North Dakota; danger moves east
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