Five tornadoes hit the Kansas City area Monday night. Did a change in National Weather Service balloon launches leave forecasters in the dark about the threat for much of the day?

Multiple tornadoes tore through Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin on Friday, leaving heavy damage in Lena, Illinois, and forcing evacuations in Rochester and Marion, Minnesota.

Hail topped 3 inches in diameter (bigger than baseballs) in both the Midwest and Plains on Friday, with many significant hail reports (over 2 inches). Hurricane force wind gusts also verified on Friday,

However, the cold front will quickly overtake storms, causing them all to merge into a windy squall line. Tornado and hail risk will decrease, though a few spin-up tornadoes are still possible. Instead, widespread 60 to 75 mph wind gusts will accompany the squall.

A new batch of severe storms fired up Wednesday afternoon, dropping softball-sized hail near Kansas City and golf-ball sized hail in Ohio.

The tornado made “like a whirring sound … and I could hear things being ripped off (the house),” one resident said.

More severe weather has slammed parts of the Midwest with several tornadoes, while heavy rain caused flooding from Green Bay to northern Michigan. Ash-har Quraishi reports.

The air has been sticky, with temperatures rising through the afternoon each day before the clouds start to appear. By evening, the phone alerts begin to sound, announcing warnings of thunderstorms that could bring giant hail, damaging winds, flash floods or even dangerous tornadoes.