By Mary Gilbert, Emma Tucker, Taylor Ward, CNN
(CNN) — An incredibly dangerous day of severe thunderstorms including the potential for long-lasting, powerful tornadoes and hurricane-strength wind gusts is ahead for the eastern half of the United States Friday.
The threat for tornadoes and damaging winds is escalating after the same system already produced destructive storms and tornadoes in the Midwest and Great Lakes Thursday.
It’s all part of a multi-day threat of widespread severe weather that will stretch into early next week.
Here’s the latest:
- Severe weather outbreak expected: Nearly 9 million people from Missouri to Kentucky are under a level 4-of-5 risk of severe thunderstorms Friday with extensive wind damage, large hail and tornadoes possible. “Several strong tornadoes are expected and a long-track, high-end tornado will be possible,” the Storm Prediction Center warned.
- Extensive wind damage possible: Friday’s storms will form in an “exceptionally volatile environment,” the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, warned. These storms will have a high threshold for damage and could produce widespread damaging wind gusts stronger than 75 mph starting in the early evening.
- Tornadoes and wind cause widespread damage: Thursday’s powerful storms left nearly 400,000 homes and businesses in the dark across multiple Midwest states as communities are left to deal with the aftermath on Friday. Wisconsin’s Dodge County was hit particularly hard. Significant damage was reported in the county and at least one person was taken to the hospital with injuries.
Powerful storms are shaping up Friday
Some severe thunderstorms from Thursday night were ongoing from Arkansas through Kentucky early Friday morning, but those are expected to clear out quickly and give the atmosphere enough time to refuel for another, more violent round of storms beginning in the afternoon.
“A regional outbreak of severe thunderstorms is likely this afternoon into tonight,” the SPC warned Friday, adding some people in the path of storms will see “intense supercells.”
More than 70 million people in the eastern half of the US are under at least a level 2-of-5 threat of severe thunderstorms on Friday, but the greatest risk of long-lasting, EF3-plus tornadoes and widespread damaging winds is centered on parts of the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.
“All severe weather hazards are on the table, including damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes, and torrential rainfall,” the National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky, warned. “A few strong tornadoes and instances of very large hail are possible.”
Storms should fire up in parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois in the afternoon and expand rapidly in scope as they push east. Initial storms are those most likely to become supercells capable of producing tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail.
That threat will continue into the evening before some storms start to form unbroken lines. The wind threat will increase once storms form lines, with gusts stronger than 75 mph and damage possible over hundreds of miles.
Dangerous storms could continue after dark, particularly in parts of Kentucky and areas east. It’s a threat to be especially mindful of as nighttime tornadoes are nearly twice as likely to be deadly as those occurring during the day, a 2022 study found.
Storms leave damage in their wake
At least 11 tornadoes were reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois as thunderstorms roared through the Midwest Thursday.
Significant damage was reported in Dodge County, Wisconsin, as a cluster of storms around the county prompted shelter-in-place alerts and displaced residents, according to Sheriff Dale Schmidt.
One person was taken to the hospital with injuries in Juneau, the sheriff said, adding there “may have been another minor injury or two that occurred.”
Many streets and highways in the county are closed due to downed power lines and trees, Schmidt said. Multiple homes in Juneau were damaged and at least one house suffered a roof collapse. Everyone inside was able to get out safely, he added.
Powerful winds also slammed multiple states. A weather reporting station on Lake Michigan near Chicago’s Navy Pier recorded a hurricane-strength wind gust of 79 mph in the evening.
Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses across five Midwest states were without power Friday morning, including more than 250,000 in Michigan, according to PowerOutage.us. Michigan utitlity company Consumers Energy said assessments on power restoration are still waiting to be made, according to CNN affiliate WNEM.
Damaging storm risks persist for days
Severe thunderstorms are possible in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday as the same storm driving Thursday and Friday’s threats pushes east. Damaging wind gusts and hail are the greatest threats for now, but a tornado can’t be ruled out.
New storms could bring damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes to parts of the southern Plains starting Saturday afternoon.
The Plains will remain the main focus of severe weather on Sunday and Monday as well, with damaging storms possible in much of Oklahoma and Kansas. The severe thunderstorm threat will then shift back into parts of the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday.
More details about the exact risks these storms will pose and the populations under threat next week will become clear in the coming days.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Karina Tsui, Julianna Bragg and Diego Mendoza contributed to this report.
