Flash floods threaten parts of Midwest, Southwest

Elevated flash flood threats were issued for parts of the Midwest and Southwest late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, potentially impacting millions from Illinois to Texas to Arizona.

A level 2 of 4 threat is in place for widespread areas from the Texas panhandle to central Indiana, encompassing Kansas City, Missouri, Peoria, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas.

St. Joseph County, Missouri, north of Kansas City, is under a level 3 of 4 flood threat, with storms in the area expected to begin late Tuesday afternoon and possibly continue in the overnight hours.

Some areas, particularly northeastern Kansas and northern Missouri, could receive 4 to 6 inches of rainfall overnight.

Continued rain from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning has caused a level 2 of 4 flood threat Wednesday for areas from St. Joseph County, Missouri, to Chicago.

In the Southwest, a level 2 of 4 flood threat is in place for areas in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Utah. Tucson, Arizona, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Cedar City, Utah are among the cities in threatened zones.

The flood threat in the Southwest is forecast to persist through at least Thursday.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts between 70 and 83 miles per hour took down power lines and trees in the plains of Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.

Thunderstorms on Monday also brought heavy rain and strong wind gusts in Tucson, Arizona, prompting water rescues.