Damaging and potentially destructive thunderstorms are set to roar through the northern Plains on Monday, fueled by intense July heat and humidity.

There’s increasing concern that some of these storms could morph into a derecho – a long-lasting line of storms that delivers powerful damaging wind gusts consistently across a few hundred miles of land. Derechos are rare, typically occurring once or twice per year across the US, usually during the summer months in the Midwest and Mississippi–Ohio Valley corridor.

As a result, there’s a Level 4 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms across parts of South Dakota and Minnesota Monday, according to the Storm Prediction Center. That heightened risk level is mainly due to the threat of gusts greater than 80 mph. The winds could be comparable to those found in a Category 1 hurricane, albeit in shorter bursts. Category 1 hurricanes have sustained winds of at least 74 mph and stronger gusts.  –read more–