Stormy weather to ramp up in the heart of the country early this week

Following a tranquil weather weekend, more potent thunderstorms are likely to target the center of the United States this week.

The week will start off with the return of wet weather from a storm emerging from the southern Rockies.

"Showers and thunderstorms will target eastern New Mexico and western Texas during early Monday evening, bringing downpours and lightning," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.

These storms may also contain damaging winds and hail as well.

During Monday night, the threat of severe storms will be mainly in western Texas and part of southwestern Oklahoma with the likelihood of large hail and strong wind gusts.

The stormy weather will continue to shift east into Tuesday, targeting northern and central Texas as well as southern Oklahoma.

Once again, thunderstorms will be capable of producing heavier downpours, and even some isolated flooding issues, along with plenty of lightning.

"This is not a very robust storm. So, while there could be a few severe wind and hail reports with these thunderstorms into Tuesday, those cases should remain rather localized," added Sojda.

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A higher chance for more widespread severe weather is expected to wait until the middle of the week.

Another wave of energy will push out of the Rockies, bringing a dose of severe thunderstorms to some of the same locations that will be affected by thunderstorms earlier in the week.

"Locations like Abilene, Texas, to near Oklahoma City, could be hit with several rounds of storms before the week is over," Sojda said.

This time, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico may be more involved with the setup of the storms, increasing the chance for more widespread severe weather on Wednesday.

At this time, Wednesday's thunderstorms may be threatening not only downpours and gusty winds, but also flooding rainfall and damaging winds up to an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 70 mph.

"Some of the storms are likely to produce large hail and may bring not only tornadoes, but perhaps a few strong tornadoes," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

As the end of the week and the exact middle of May approaches, a change in the pattern will allow for moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to continue to fuel more wet weather in the center of the country.

The more moisture that pulls into the Plains and western Gulf Coast, the higher the chance for more severe weather during the second half of May.

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