AccuWeather is wrapping up live coverage of the deadly tornadoes that decimated parts of the central United States. AccuWeather meteorologists are now warning that more severe weather will be possible Tuesday through Thursday. For additional coverage, stream AccuWeather NOW anytime on our website. Stay up to date on the latest weather in your area by downloading the AccuWeather mobile app and visiting AccuWeather.com. And keep an eye on weather news and forecasts by following AccuWeather on:
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At least four deaths, including a 4-month-old child in Oklahoma, have been confirmed in the wake of powerful tornadoes that ripped a heartbreaking path of destruction across the state Saturday night.
Daylight Sunday revealed a trail of incomprehensible devastation in the hard-hit town of Holdenville about 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City where officials say four people were killed, including a baby, and several others injured.
“You just can’t believe the destruction,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. “It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.”
Another 60 miles southwest of Holdenville, damage in the city of Sulpher is hard to fathom. “One person died from storm-related injuries at a sports bar in Sulphur that was hit by a tornado, officials said. At least 30 people were injured in Sulphur, including 20 who were at the sports bar, according to officials,” ABC News reported.
Catastrophic damage in Sulpher, Oklahoma, after a powerful tornado ripped through on Saturday, April 27. (Image credit: Brandon Clement)
Carolyn Goodman told the Associated Press she traveled to Sulphur trying to locate her former sister-in-law, who she believed was at a local bar when the tornado hit the area.
“The bar was destroyed,” Goodman said. “I know they probably won’t find her alive ... but I hope she is still alive.”
About 9,000 Oklahoma customers and 52,000 in Texas were without power as of Sunday night as a result of the storms, according to poweroutage.us. Gov. Stitt issued an executive order on Sunday morning declaring a state of emergency in Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne and Pontotoc counties on Saturday. He also made plans to damage hard-hit areas on Sunday.
Between Thursday and Saturday, over 550 reports of severe weather were submitted across the central United States and the threat is not over. AccuWeather meteorologists continue to track the ongoing outbreak of severe thunderstorms across the center of the nation. Sunday will be the final day of widespread severe weather before thunderstorm activity becomes more localized early in the week.
“The risk for severe weather will continue into a fourth day, Sunday, farther east toward the Mississippi Valley,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. “The threat of tornadoes appears to be lower, but instances of damaging winds and hail are still expected, especially across northeastern Texas, northern Louisiana, Arkansas and southern Missouri,” he added.
Flash flooding is also a concern. “Repeated rounds of heavy thunderstorms have resulted in instances of flash flooding over portions of the central Plains, Ozarks and mid-Mississippi Valley,” Buckingham noted adding, “This threat will extend through the end of the weekend as additional thunderstorm activity passes through the region.”
Heavy rain falling in short amounts of time can lead to additional flash flooding concerns, especially in the form of ponding on highways and roadways leading to travel delays along portions of interstates 35, 40, 44 and 70.
Residents of Holdenville, Oklahoma, are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives this morning after a violent suspected tornado Saturday night killed at least two people. One of the deaths was a 4-month-old baby, local news affiliate KOCO News 5 reported. Holdenville is about 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
Another 60 miles southwest of Holdenville, damage in the city of Sulpher is hard to fathom. The footage below, shot by storm chaser Brandon Clement, shows homes reduced to rubble, cars tossed around, and trees shredded to stumps.
Damage from an intense tornado on April 27 was seen the morning after in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Video shows buildings collapsed, as well as vehicles thrown into debris along the roadside.
The search for more victims lasted into the morning hours, with Hughes County Emergency Management telling KOCO they worked through power outages and the emergency phone call system shutting down. As of Sunday morning, at least 37,000 customers are without power, according to poweroutage.us.
“Over 200 reports of severe weather were submitted on Saturday, spanning from Texas to Michigan. Out of those reports, there were 38 reported tornadoes,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
In a statement released late Saturday night, the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management reported injuries and damage, including downed power lines in Carter County. Several homes and trees were damaged in the town of Devol in Cotton County. Damage and flooding have been reported across the state, and officials are urging residents impacted by the storms to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts.
AccuWeather’s Tony Laubach was driving on Interstate 35 in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, where severe storms caused a muddy mess on the highway on April 27. Road crews were busy clearing mud and debris.
Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a statement early Sunday morning, saying, “My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night. Thank you to Oklahoma Emergency Management and those who have worked through the night to keep Oklahomans safe and have worked to clear debris and assess damage.”
Two women help carry a friend's belongings out of their damaged home after a tornado passed through the area in Bennington, Neb., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Residents spent Saturday sifting through what was left of their homes after a powerful tornado ripped through suburban Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, including the hard-hit town of Elkhorn.
People pick through the rubble of a house that was leveled in Elkhorn, Neb., on Saturday, April 27. Residents began sifting through the rubble after a tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
The massive twister destroyed homes and businesses as it moved for miles through neighborhoods and fields before tearing through Minden, Iowa. Incredibly, no deaths have been reported.
Cleanup began for many parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska after tornadic severe storms blasted the region on April 26-27.
Tens of millions from central Texas to eastern Nebraska and Iowa will be at risk once again from Sunday to Sunday night. Two moderate risk zones are being highlighted around cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Little Rock, Arkansas, as places where the chances for robust storms is greater.
Localized damaging wind gusts of 55-65 mph will be possible with peak winds up to the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 75 mph. Other severe weather risks such as hail, intense downpours and isolated tornadoes are also a possibility.
Residents should stay vigilant when the risk for severe weather lasts into the overnight hours. Potent thunderstorms hidden under the cover of darkness, especially when there is an isolated tornado threat, can pose a greater risk to lives.
The next round of severe thunderstorms is well underway with strong storms capable of producing tornadoes rumbling from northern Texas to southern Iowa across an area spanning more than 700 miles. The most intense storms are likely in Oklahoma and northern Texas, where three potent storms are ongoing. Each storm has a history of producing tornadoes. People in and around Wichita Falls, Texas, and Oklahoma City should monitor these storms closely, as well as any more that develop, as the atmosphere in this region is primed to spin up intense, potentially long-tracked twisters through Saturday evening.
A snapshot of the radar around Oklahoma at 4 p.m. CDT on April 27, 2024. The two storms west of Witchita Falls, Texas, and the storm west of Oklahoma City were capable to producing tornadoes. (AccuWeather)
AccuWeather’s Tony Laubach reports from a hailstorm in Oklahoma and discusses the severe weather outlook for the rest of the weekend.
AccuWeather meteorologist Tony Laubach encountered baseball-sized hail during a “pretty hefty hailstorm” in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, about 100 miles north of Oklahoma City. “The hail was enough to wreck windshields, mine included,” Laubach said during a live report on the AccuWeather Network where he revealed his cracked windshield.
(Credit: Tony Laubach)
After seeing a number of people stopping their cars under overpasses, Laubach also reminded people not to do that.
While it may seem like a good idea to seek shelter from hail under an overpass, it puts other motorists at risk because you’re blocking traffic as you wait for the storm to pass, preventing others from getting out of harm’s way. It reduces visibility for others and increases the potential for a bad accident.
If you encounter hail while driving, slow down and turn on your flashers. If you need to stop, make sure you pull all the way off the road.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center issued a rare "particularly dangerous situation" Tornado Watch for parts of Texas and Oklahoma early Saturday afternoon, saying that a few intense tornadoes are likely. The last PDS Tornado Watch was issued on March 31, 2023. Several tornado warnings had also been issued by lunch time CDT but no tornadoes had been reported yet.
Severe weather watches for northern Texas and Oklahoma on the afternoon of April 27, 2024. A "PDS" Tornado Watch is shown in bright red.
On Thursday, AccuWeather meteorologists marked another rare 'high' risk area for severe weather from south-central Oklahoma to east-central Kansas and the western border of Missouri for Saturday, outlining the area with the best prospects for destructive, widespread and dangerous storms.
New video reveals the absolute devastation in hard-hit Elkhorn, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha, in the wake of a massive tornado that tore through yesterday. Crews spent much of the night searching for anyone trapped or injured, local authorities said. Incredibly, no deaths have been reported.
Elkhorn resident Jason Sunday described the tornado as a “freight train,” affiliate KETV reported.
“We saw it coming from the southwest, and when it got too close for comfort, we headed downstairs quickly. We were in the downstairs bathtub, and it was just like the movie said, it was like a freight train,” Sunday told KETV.
“And you knew the roof was coming off because that was a loud pop and sucking motion. It was pretty scary.”
The tornado caused severe damage to the Sunday family’s dream home to which they had just moved last month.
“We’re thankful to be alive. We’re very thankful,” Sunday added.
AccuWeather’s Tony Laubach recalls several of the tornadoes he chased on April 26 and discusses the potential for more through the weekend.
Following a catastrophic day filled with tornadoes and intense storms across the Plains, AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the pattern on Saturday can pose eerily similar threats.
At least 11 states will be within the danger zone for severe thunderstorms bringing large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes into Saturday night.
Similar to Friday, AccuWeather meteorologists have marked another rare ‘high’ risk for severe weather from south-central Oklahoma to east-central Kansas and the western border of Missouri for Saturday, outlining the area with the highest prospects for destructive, widespread, and dangerous storms.
The risk for severe storms through Saturday night will span roughly 1,400 miles across a chunk of the Central U.S., home to over 35 million people. Potent thunderstorms can begin to ramp up by the midday and afternoon hours for many locations.
“With such a volatile atmospheric setup favoring severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, AccuWeather meteorologists remain concerned that a second tornado outbreak in as many days may occur [into] Saturday night, which may once again include some particularly intense or long-track tornadoes,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.
Tornadoes were captured on camera from Texas to Iowa on April 26 as severe storms raced across the Midwest, damaging airports, knocking out power and leaving communities in ruins. As of Saturday morning, about 27,000 customers in northeast Texas were without power
This compilation video shows the severe weather recording in several states including supercells, lightning, tornadoes and their destructive aftermath.
From Texas to Nebraska to Iowa, multiple tornadoes carved a trail of damage on April 26.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen released a statement saying he extends his deepest prayers to all those impacted by the storms.
“I have ordered that state resources be made available to assist with the emergency response and to support local first responders as they assess the damage. Nebraskans are tough, resilient people, and our neighbors and communities will rally around affected families and businesses to assist them. Nebraskans are no strangers to severe weather and, as they have countless times before, Nebraskans will help Nebraskans to rebuild.”
A large tornado ripped through the town of Minden, Iowa, causing extensive damage to property on April 26.
Tornadoes carved several paths of destruction across the midwest on Friday, destroying hundreds of homes and other buildings, many around Omaha, Nebraska. This drone footage shows the scope of destruction a massive twister left behind in the city of Minden, Iowa.
The small city, located about 30 miles northeast of Omaha, was heavily damaged. “Approximately 40 homes, maybe 50, were destroyed, gas leaks, wires down, a lot of debris. So it’s a very dangerous area. We have shut off the entrance to the city, except for the people that live here,” Jeff Theulen with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office told 6 News. “Obviously, they’re trying to take care of their houses and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Theulen said rescue crews pulled many people from damaged and destroyed homes Friday evening. As of Saturday morning, there were several reports of injuries but no immediate deaths. However, the danger is not over, AccuWeather forecasters warn another round of volatile storms is expected Saturday afternoon and evening.
Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, released a statement Friday evening saying that a tornado had touched down and the airport was closed for an hour while passengers were in storm shelters. There were no reports of injuries, but several buildings and many planes were destroyed, according to photos and videos posted on X.
Over 75 tornado reports have come in today from spotters as of 7:30 PM CDT, mostly in Nebraska and Iowa.
Many reports were likely the same tornado or supercell thunderstorm, as there have been several long-tracking storms.
Over 85 tornado warnings were issued, including some lasting more than 3 hours in which Tornado Emergency Warnings were in effect.
Photos and videos of catastrophic damage are emerging on social media, showing utter destruction in Elkhorn, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha, in the wake of a massive tornado that tore through.
Video shows the scary moments as a massive tornado spins toward the town of Elkhorn, Nebraska, on April 26.
The Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter for Elkhorn-area residents, according to the Omaha Police Department. Douglas County authorities report a reunification center is being established at Elkhorn Middle School for parents whose students were held during earlier tornado warnings, according to 6 News WOWT.
During a media briefing at 6:30 p.m. CDT, Omaha police and fire officials say they have extra officers going door-to-door helping people from houses that were "flattened" by the tornado, but no serious injuries or fatalities have been reported. Police say they think media reports regarding warnings helped reduce injuries.
Firefighters work to clear a home damaged by a tornado northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Margery A. Beck)
Fire Chief Kathy Bossman said damage is also reported in other Nebraska towns, including Arbor Village, Arbor View, and Waterloo. "Right now, we are beginning detailed searches of those neighborhoods; we're going to be looking at each property."
The drone-assisted search will take place overnight and possibly into tomorrow.
A destroyed home is seen northwest of Omaha, Neb., after a storm tore through the area on Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Margery A. Beck)
A destroyed house is seen northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, after storms swept through the area on Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Margery A. Beck)
Debris is seen from a destroyed home northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, after a storm tore through the area on Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Margery A. Beck)
"Challenges include power outages; we have power lines down, we have gas leaks, we have unstable structures, we have trees that are down," Chief Bossman said.
The Omaha Police Department tweeted it has established a command center and additional officers are being brought in to assist with 911 calls citywide. Officers are asking everyone to avoid the Elkhorn area “as emergency personnel are assisting those in the path of the tornado.”
As of 7:30 p.m. CDT, poweroutage.us is reporting 7,000 customers are without power in Nebraska.
Drivers on Interstate 80 got an incredibly scary view of a powerful tornado on the afternoon of April 26. Officials urged residents in eastern Nebraska to seek shelter “immediately” as massive tornadoes moved through the Lincoln and Omaha metro areas
Drivers on Interstate 80 got an incredibly scary view of a powerful tornado on the afternoon of April 26.
You can track the severe weather on AccuWeather’s weather radar. AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada has been monitoring the radar throughout the afternoon and said a tornado northwest of Omaha was a “menace on radar” with a debris ball that appeared to be over a mile wide.
Radar showing a supercell thunderstorm with tornado debris ball moving northwest of Omaha, Nebraska on April 26, 2024.
A debris ball, technically known as a tornadic debris signature (TDS), is an area of high reflectivity on weather radar caused by a tornado lofting debris into the air.
Storm chaser Aaron Jayjack captured this video near Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 26 as a violent tornado tore across a highway, leaving at least one tractor trailer on its side.
Storm chaser Aaron Jayjack was uniquely positioned to record this stunning footage of a massive wedge tornado crossing Interstate 80 in Nebraska Friday afternoon. “VIOLENT tornado just crossed the Interstate 80 Lincoln, NE,” he tweeted.
You can see the powerful twister flinging debris across the interstate as motorists attempt to navigate the treacherous roadway. At one point during the video, Jayjack shouts, “Oh, somebody got hit!”
At least one tractor-trailer was tossed on its side by the intense wind. No word yet on injuries. The Nebraska Department of Transportation caught a different view of the massive twister.
A tornado near Interstate 80 in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 26, 2024. (Nebraska Department of Transportation)
Wedge tornadoes are the most destructive and catastrophic tornadoes and can grow to be over a mile in diameter.
“Wow!!! What a tornado just north of Ravenna, Nebraska, this Friday at 12:32 p.m. CDT,” storm chaser Brandon Montgomery tweeted after recording this footage. “Incredible experience!”
Storm chaser Brandon Montgomery followed a tall rope tornado as it tore across a field in Ravenna, Nebraska, on April 26.
Ravenna is about 175 miles west of Omaha, which is one of the major metro areas that are very close to or within the high-risk area into Friday night along with Kansas City, Missouri; and Des Moines, Iowa.
Rope tornadoes, named after their long, thin appearance, are the smallest type of tornado and can be short-lived, lasting just a few minutes but can be just the start of the evolution of a twister. Don’t be fooled by their size! Even a thin rope tornado can cause damage, although the path of destruction tends to be narrow compared to other kinds of whirlwinds.
One of the first tornadoes of the day touched down in central Nebraska, and AccuWeather Storm Chaser and Meteorologist Tony Laubach was on the scene. Laubach came within a few hundred yards of a large tornado near Elba, Nebraska, as it crossed the road in front of him. Watch the heart-pounding video below:
Meteorologist Tony Laubach got up close with a tornado as it crossed a highway in Elba, Nebraska, on April 26.
There is a high risk of tornadoes, powerful winds and large hail in part of the central United States today, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, and intense storms are in short order. A new tornado watch has been issued for eastern Nebraska and western Iowa in the area where the strongest storms of the day are expected. A tornado has already been reported from a storm about 150 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska, according to storm chasers in the area.
A tornado watch is also in effect for northeastern Texas and part of southeastern Oklahoma where locally severe storms have been rumbling since late Friday morning. People who are under a tornado watch should remain vigilant and seek shelter if a tornado warning is issued.
Stormchaser Ben McHone captured this ominous footage of multiple supercells moving across northwest Kansas producing heavy rain, hail and the formation of a ‘needle tornado’ on Thursday afternoon.
Multiple supercells moved across northwest Kansas producing heavy rain, hail and formation of a needle tornado on April 25.
A needle tornado is another name for a rope tornado which is the smallest type of tornado and named for its long, thin appearance.
On the thunderstorm spectrum, supercells are the least common type of thunderstorm. What makes a supercell unique from all other thunderstorm types is that it contains a deep and persistent rotating updraft called a mesocyclone.
Supercells have a high propensity to produce severe weather, including damaging winds, very large hail, and even violet tornadoes.
“There could be more than a dozen tornadoes spawned from Friday afternoon to Friday night alone,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. “Into Friday night, the areas most likely to be strewn with intense, discrete thunderstorms -- the type that often produces strong tornadoes -- extends from northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri to southeastern Nebraska and southern and central Iowa.”
Major metro areas that are very close to or within the high-risk area into Friday night include Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ straight-line wind gust is 80 mph into Friday night and is stronger than that of the minimum threshold for a hurricane (74 mph).
People in the severe weather threat zones each day and night are encouraged to pay attention to the weather, take alerts and warnings seriously and have a plan of action in place in case violent conditions become imminent. A method to receive audible alerts when sleeping is strongly advised
As severe weather erupted over the Plains on Thursday afternoon, NOAA’s GOES-EAST weather satellite was keeping a close eye on the evolving situation. The satellite was focused on eastern Colorado, western Kansas, and southern Nebraska, where the strongest storms of the day rumbled to life. There were around 70 reports of large hail from storms in this area, including chunks of ice as large as tennis balls.
The miles can add up fast for folks who drive across the country to capture footage of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, and one storm chaser is closing in on a monumental benchmark. “I am making my way to half a million storm-chasing miles,” AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach said. So far this year, Laubach has logged 5,448 miles, and he will add to that in the coming days as he hunts down dangerous storms across the central United States. Laubach said that hitting the 500,000-mile mark has been a long-standing goal for his storm-chasing career and he might finally reach the benchmark later this year.
Heavy rain and hail hit Little Rock, Arkansas, as this shelf cloud passed through the area.
An incredible timelapse of a shelf cloud with blue hues was recorded in Little Rock, Arkansas Thursday afternoon. Flooding was also reported from the storms.
Shelf clouds often form at the leading edge of strong winds flowing down and outward from a storm. It is not uncommon for thunderstorms to contain blue or green tinted clouds, but there is no direct correlation to the severity of the storm.
AccuWeather meteorologist and storm chaser Tony Laubach is wrapping up a day of tracking severe weather across Kansas and is headed east to get set up for tomorrow. AccuWeather Prime’s Melissa Constanzer caught up with Laubach as he traveled through Quinter, Kansas.
“It has been more of a hail day today,” Laubach said. “Most of the hail we saw was anywhere between nickel and quarter-sized. We had hail reports in Kansas as big as two-and-a-half inches, that would be tennis ball-sized hail.”
In the video below, Laubach explains why there was more hail than tornadoes:
Severe thunderstorms produced prolific hail across parts of the Plains on April 25, but cold air undercut the threat for tornadoes.
Storm spotters reported hail as large as 2.5 inches in diameter (about the size of a tennis ball) near Russell Springs, Kansas, earlier Thursday evening, with 2-inch-diameter hail near Syracuse and Colby, Kansas. Wind gusts also spiked to 70 mph at a weather station near Sharon Springs, Kansas.
Hail as large as 4.5 inches in diameter fell in the Carolinas last weekend. A hailstone that fell in Vivian, South Dakota, on July 23, 2010, holds the United States' record for largest hail size with a diameter of 8 inches and heaviest weight at 1.94 pounds.
Thursday is just the start of an extended severe weather event across the central United States. AccuWeather meteorologists say there is a high threat of severe thunderstorms on Friday and Friday night, the second-highest level on AccuWeather’s severe weather index.
Approximately 38 million people could face thunderstorms, the strongest of which may spin up tornadoes and unleash large hail and damaging winds.
Additional rounds of severe weather are in the forecast through the weekend, with some areas at risk of being hit multiple times.
A landspout tornado touches down in Akron, Colorado as another funnel cloud spins above it.
A landspout tornado touched down today near Akron, Colorado, while another funnel cloud spun nearby. The landspout was on the ground for only five minutes. Landspouts start as a column of spinning air near the ground and aren't always connected to a severe thunderstorm, whereas tornadoes are spawned in a rotating thunderstorm and move down to the ground.
Severe thunderstorms are rumbling over the Plains with two tornado watches in effect from eastern Colorado and southern Nebraska to the Texas Panhandle. One thunderstorm in northwestern Kansas has already produced a tornado, according to a storm chaser in the area. Thunderstorms may become more widespread into Thursday night over the region, with additional watches possible. Three preliminary tornadoes have been reported across the entire region as of 5:10 p.m. CDT.
Tornado watches in the central United States as of 5 p.m. CDT on April 25, 2024. (AccuWeather)
A tornado watch means that weather conditions are prime for severe thunderstorms to develop and spin up twisters. Meanwhile, a tornado warning means that a tornado is imminent or is happening and that people in the path of the storm should seek shelter.
A clear sky over Colby, Kansas, an area where tornado-producing thunderstorms are possible later Thursday afternoon. (AccuWeather/Tony Laubach)
Storm chasers are in position ahead of an outburst of thunderstorms expected to erupt over part of the Plains later Thursday afternoon. AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach is in Colby, Kansas, located in the northwest part of the state, and is sitting under a sunny sky with a few patches of clouds. A much different scene is foreseen to unfold over the region in a few hours, including the potential for tornadoes.
AccuWeather Severe Weather Expert Guy Pearson joined Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno to talk about the forthcoming severe weather outbreak over the United States, explaining why the threat of damaging thunderstorms will unfold over several days. Watch the interview below:
The Plains and Midwest regions of the United States face a weekend of dangerous severe weather including the risk of tornadoes starting on Friday.
Tornadoes come in all shapes and sizes, but meteorologists can classify each one based on distinct features. The smallest type of twister is a rope tornado, named after its long, thin appearance. It is one of the most common types of tornadoes and can be short-lived, but some evolve into larger, more powerful twisters.
A large tornado spinning near Morton, Texas, on May 23, 2022. (Marcus Diaz via Storyful)
Wedge tornadoes are the largest type of tornadoes and can be over a mile wide. Some of the most intense tornadoes in history were wedge tornadoes, including the EF5 that leveled Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. Click here to see more types of twisters that occur over the United States.
The first round of a multiday severe weather event is about to unfold over the central United States with each day through the weekend bringing the risk of damaging winds, hail and tornadoes. On Thursday, the severe weather threat will extend from northern Texas to eastern Wyoming, with thunderstorms expected to erupt late Thursday afternoon. The strongest storms are likely from the Texas Panhandle through western Kansas.
An even higher risk of severe weather is in the offing at the end of the week as the next round of thunderstorms unfolds. “I think the worst days for severe weather, specifically tornadoes, is going to be [Friday] and then on Saturday,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. Click here for a full breakdown of the impending severe weather outbreak.
Knowing when severe weather is approaching can be life-saving information, especially during a severe weather outbreak, like what is unfolding over the South Wednesday. One of the easiest ways to receive severe weather alerts, such as tornado warnings, is by having the free AccuWeather App on your smartphone. Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app, which also provides an ad-free experience. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. These custom alerts can provide critical time to seek shelter before damaging weather moves into the area. Watching the AccuWeather Network and monitoring AccuWeather’s website are two other ways to stay updated with the latest weather information.
