(Bloomberg) -- A powerful storm sweeping across the U.S. and Canada is lifting the threat of record high temperatures, severe thunderstorms and even more tornadoes in the Midwest.

Less than a week after record-breaking tornado outbreak left more than 75 people dead in Kentucky and its neighboring states, the risk of twisters is being raised again across Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center. In addition, a wider area from New Mexico to the eastern Canadian province of Ontario will be raked by high winds as temperatures rise.

“Widespread severe wind gusts of 60 to 75 miles per hour along with at least a few tornadoes are likely from mid afternoon through early tonight across the Mid-Missouri Valley to the Upper Mississippi Valley,” the U.S. Storm Prediction Center said in its forecast. 

Temperature will rise 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit above normal and could set all-time records for December across the Great Plains and Midwest, said Zackary Taylor, a forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. The high in St. Louis Wednesday is expected to reach 71 degrees; Topeka, Kansas could reach 73; while Chicago may hit 63, the National Weather Service said. 

The high readings, along with moist air flowing north from the Gulf of Mexico will raise the odds for severe thunderstorms throughout the central U.S., which can deliver damaging hail and spawn tornadoes. 

Meanwhile to the west, as much as 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow fell in California’s mountains, and another two feet could fall Wednesday as a smaller storm moves in off the Pacific Ocean. That could help alleviate drought conditions that have gripped the state and much of the U.S. West for months. 

The snow and high winds have already knocked out power to more than 30,000 people across California and those outages could spread eastward as the wind rises. In addition, many roads in the mountains of California and Nevada have been closed.

The high winds raking the Midwest are expected to spill over into southern Ontario, where they could also knock down trees and cause power outages, according to Environment Canada.

 

 

 

 

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