Where are Beryl's remnants headed next? Flooding rain; tornadoes possible

Beryl may not be a hurricane anymore, but its impacts will continue to be felt across portions of the central U.S. for the remainder of the week, forecasters say.

By Tuesday, Beryl should weaken from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as its center tracks inland over East Texas, the Weather Channel said. It is then likely to merge with a front and bring rain to portions of the Ozarks, Mississippi and Ohio valleys, Great Lakes and interior Northeast over the next few days.

While the wind and storm surge threat from Beryl has diminished, heavy rain and the chance for tornadoes will continue through the week.

The main concern from Beryl's remnants will be from heavy rain, according to AccuWeather, which predicts the storm will bring at least an inch of rain to portions of nearly a dozen states from Louisiana to New York. "The storm's tentacles will even reach Canada by late in the week," AccuWeather meteorologist Bill Degar said.

Soggy Tuesday

Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms will spread into the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday as Beryl transitions into a post-tropical cyclone, the National Weather Service said.

The heaviest rainfall will follow Beryl's track through Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana through late Tuesday, where up to 8 inches can fall, Deger said. "Since the storm will be moving fast, this rain can fall in just a matter of hours, leading to reduced visibility for motorists and flash flooding on highways and in poor-drainage areas."

Flooding could swamp cities such as St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Detroit. Overall, some 15 million people live where a flood watch is in effect this week, the weather service said.

Tornadoes possible

Isolated strong to severe storms could produce a few damaging gusts or tornadoes across portions of the Mid-South into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, the Storm Prediction Center said.

"These tornadoes can be particularly dangerous as they can develop very quickly in fast-moving thunderstorms and can be obscured by downpours or darkness if they occur at nighttime," warned AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.

By Wednesday, the center said that a couple of damaging gusts or tornadoes may accompany the remnants of Beryl across portions of northern Pennsylvania into southern New York.

A drought-buster?

The rain from Beryl isn't all bad news, as some folks could be looking forward to a few downpours: "Large portions of the southern U.S. are experiencing drought conditions," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alexander Duffus. "This rainfall can help to alleviate that, although for some, it will come as too much at once."

Contributing: Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beryl updates: Possible tornadoes, heavy rain continues in central US