Tornado Watch issued as severe storms threaten 109 million with destructive winds, huge hail, strong tornadoes

More than 109 million Americans from the southern Great Lakes region to as far south as Texas and Louisiana face a dangerous severe weather threat on Sunday, with storms that could pack destructive wind gusts, very large hail and strong tornadoes.As the strong cold front driving Sunday’s severe storms charges eastward through Monday, some 92 million people from the Northeast southwestward to the central Gulf Coast region will be threatened by another round of severe weather to kick off the new workweek.NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a Tornado Watch for northeastern Illinois, northern Indiana and extreme southwestern Lower Michigan until 8 p.m.ET (7 p.m.

CT).This watch area includes the city of Chicago.Another Tornado Watch has been posted for southern into east-central Illinois, central and southwestern Indiana, extreme northwestern Kentucky and extreme southeastern Missouri until 8 p.m.

ET (7 p.m.CT).

This watch area includes the city of Indianapolis.Additional watches are likely to be issued later Sunday as dangerous storms continue to fire up throughout the afternoon and evening.Numerous severe thunderstorms are expected beginning Sunday afternoon from the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley southwestward through the Tennessee and lower Mississippi valleys, with the storms continuing to track eastward into Sunday night.Initially, the primary threat from the severe storms will be large hail, some of which could be massive (2 inches or larger in diameter, or larger than a lime or hen egg).Several tornadoes are also possible before damaging wind gusts become the more prominent severe weather threat Sunday evening and into the overnight hours.The SPC has posted a level 3 out of 5 severe weather risk from southern Lower Michigan, including Detroit, southwestward to northeastern Texas and northern Louisiana.

These areas face a significant threat of potentially destructive winds that could cause widesprea...