Fears are growing that the first major storm outbreak in the lead-up to spring could hit the heart of the country, putting millions of Americans from Texas to Iowa at risk of potentially powerful tornadoes.
Some isolated severe thunderstorms were expected to begin developing late Thursday in the Texas Panhandle and across western Oklahoma and parts of Kansas, the National Weather Service said. Large hail, damaging winds and possibly some tornadoes are also expected, according to forecasters.
But the strongest storms are expected to occur Friday in an area that includes most of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri and extends into some neighboring states, according to weather service forecasts.
More than 6 million Americans face the highest risk of severe weather on Friday in an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to the National Storm Prediction Center. Another 22 million people are at slightly lower risk in an area that includes Oklahoma City; St. Louis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
A weather pattern that brings the potential for strong storms is also expected to bring very warm temperatures for this time of year by the end of the week.
“Temperatures will be about 20 to 30 degrees above average, with temperatures in the 80s as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their discussion of the long-range outlook. “Daily records can spread widely.”