June 2 (UPI) -- A wide swath of the already weather-weary United States is under threat of more severe conditions this week, with millions of Americans facing potential tornadoes, other dangerous storms and higher-than-normal temperatures.
An excessive heat warning is in effect for parts of the Southwest, where daytime highs in Phoenix are already projected to top 105 degrees, well above normal.
The National Weather Service projects severe thunderstorms could return to Plains states early in the week before a powerful cold front shifts the threat east by midweek.
June picks up where May left off. May was among the busiest months on record for severe weather, with more than 500 tornadoes reported across a wide swatch of the country.
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The last time there were that many tornadoes in May was in 2019, and it's only the third in recent history that so many tornadoes have hit the country in the month of May. Tornadoes were reported every day of the month except for May 15 and 18.
June is also historically an active month for tornadoes and the threat of severe weather will continue this week, especially across the Plains from Texas through the Dakotas. Large hail, damaging winds, flash floods and tornadoes are a possibility for the region, already battered by severe storms in recent weeks.
"The areas threatened by severe weather Monday will unfortunately once again include some regions that have been hard hit over the past several weeks. A large portion of central and North Texas extending northeastward to cities such as Kansas City and St. Louis could all experience rounds of severe thunderstorms Monday into Monday night," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski stated.
The severe weather also poses a threat to commuters Monday U.S. Interstates 35, 40, 44, 70 and other major arterial routes across the Plains, Midwest and Mississippi River Valley could be impacted by thunderstorms with large hail, torrential downpours, frequent lightning and strong wind gusts.
The severe weather threat will move to the east and north Tuesday, with a large portion of the central U.S. from Minnesota and Wisconsin southward into Oklahoma and Arkansas at risk for strong and dangerous storms, which will likely be spawned by cool Canadian air colliding with warm, most air from the Gulf of Mexico.
"Enough shear, or spin, will be present in the atmosphere that isolated tornadoes may develop. Everyone in these areas should be ready to implement their weather safety plans and download the AccuWeather app and have alerts enabled and audible, especially as some of these storms could occur after sunset," Pydynowski added.
Iowa could be at the center of the severe storms Tuesday, a state that has already reported more than 100 tornadoes in 2024.
Strong, gusty winds are forecast for the Plains and Midwest states once the threat of severe weather abates, gusty winds will buffet the Plains and Midwest.
