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NWS Warns of Severe Thunderstorms, Heavy Rain in Central Plains, Midwest

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The US National Weather Service said parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley and Midwest are likely to experience scattered severe thunderstorms, with potential for hail in excess of two inches, strong tornadoes, and damaging wind gusts, on Thursday evening.

The region stretching from the Central Plains to the Midwest faces the risk of flooding due to heavy to excessive rainfall throughout the day, the agency said.

Meanwhile, the heatwave in Central US is likely to move towards the south and east on Thursday.

The NWS early Thursday issued a red flag warning for Colorado's Gunnison, Canon City, Durango, Cortez, Pagosa Springs, Nucla, Lake City, Pueblo, La Veta Pass, Trinidad, Eads, Lamar, and Ordway. The state is primarily served by Xcel Energy (XEL) and Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy.

A similar warning was raised for Nebraska's Harrison, Chadron, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Alliance, Harrisburg, Kimball, and Sidney. Most of Nebraska is covered by the regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.

Affected areas in California included Shasta Dam, Redding, Red Bluff, Corning, Alder Springs, Oroville, Marysville, Woodland, Fairfield, Vallejo, San Francisco, Fremont, Lakeport, Auburn, and Grass Valley, primarily served by PG&E (PCG) unit Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

In Wyoming, a red flag warning was issued for Glenrock, Bill, Lusk, Lance Creek, Glendo, Douglas, Torrington, Wheatland, Chugwater, Pine Bluffs, and Cheyenne, which primarily fall under the service area of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power.

Arizona's Grand Canyon Village, primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) subsidiary Arizona Public Service Company, was placed under an extreme heat warning watch.

The NWS issued a freeze warning for Idaho's Shoshone, Arco, Rigby, Rexbury, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Pocatello, and areas near Hailey and Island Park. These places are primarily served by Rocky Mountain Power and Idacorp (IDA) subsidiary Idaho Power.

A flash flood warning was raised for Missouri's Trenton and Kirksville, while a flood warning was issued for Bethany, St Joseph, Butler, Jefferson City, Carrollton, Chillicothe, Macon, and Nevada. Evergy (EVRG), Ameren's (AEE) Missouri unit, and Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) subsidiary Liberty are the major service providers in Missouri.

In Kansas, where Evergy is among the service providers, a flood warning was issued for McPherson, and areas near Lincoln, Salina, Iola, and Manhattan.

The NWS issued a flash flood warning for Bloomington, Pekin, and areas near Peoria in Illinois, while Galesburg, and McComb, were placed under a flood warning watch. These places are primarily served by Ameren's Illinois unit and Exelon (EXC) subsidiary ComEd.

Also covered under a flood warning watch were Iowa's Iowa City, Davenport, Clinton, and areas near Des Moines, while Osceola was placed under a flash flood warning watch. Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy (LNT) are the major power providers in Iowa.

The NWS also issued flood warnings for small pockets of Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Washington.

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