Millions of Americans are bracing for a dangerous round of severe weather as forecasters warn that powerful storms capable of producing tornadoes and massive hail could erupt across the Plains and Midwest.
Meteorologists say a large swath of the country — stretching roughly 1,500 miles from Texas to Michigan — is at risk, placing more than 63 million people in the potential path of severe thunderstorms beginning Friday afternoon, per the New York Post.
The developing threat follows deadly storms that swept through parts of the southern Plains the night before.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt confirmed Friday that a mother and daughter were killed in Major County after severe storms struck the region Thursday night.
Emergency officials in Fairview, Oklahoma, also shared dramatic video on social media showing what appeared to be a large tornado forming just west of the city late Thursday.
Elsewhere, FOX Weather meteorologist Ari Sarsalari reported tracking a tornado that storm spotters confirmed outside Quail, Texas, during the same storm system.
Now forecasters say the next round of storms could be even more widespread.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center issued a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms across parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa on Friday.
According to forecasters, conditions in the atmosphere could support the development of intense supercell thunderstorms — powerful rotating storms known for producing large hail, tornadoes, and destructive winds.
Some of the hailstones could grow to more than 3 inches in diameter, which meteorologists sometimes describe as “monster hail.”
The FOX Forecast Center says the first round of storms is expected to develop during the mid- to late afternoon hours on Friday.
That activity will likely form as an area of low pressure moves near the surface across Kansas and into the Missouri Valley.
As the system strengthens, the environment could support storms capable of producing large hail and tornadoes.
Forecasters say the greatest threat for strong tornadoes during the early evening may stretch from Kansas City southward through Wichita and into Oklahoma City.
Later Friday night, the threat zone is expected to expand as a cold front pushes farther east and southeast.
As that front moves through, damaging wind gusts, hail, and possible tornadoes could develop across a large area extending from Illinois south through Oklahoma and into northeastern Texas.
With millions of people living in the path of the system, meteorologists are urging residents across the region to remain alert as storms begin to develop and move through the area.
