OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The multiday severe weather threat continues Thursday across the central and southern Plains, where thunderstorms packing strong tornadoes and destructive hail are possible during the afternoon and evening.
The Denver metro was pounded by hail on Wednesday amid severe storms that prompted the area’s first Tornado Watch in nearly two years.
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On Thursday, the threat of severe storms shifts a bit farther east into the Plains, extending from the Dakotas to North Texas, with a separate area of strong thunderstorms expected along the Gulf Coast and into Florida.
The most intense storms will likely be centered over portions of western and central Kansas, including Wichita, and southward into central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City and Norman, shaded in the darkest red on the map below.
Large hail, tornadoes and damaging wind gusts are all possible with the severe weather across the central and southern Plains on Thursday.
Some tornadoes could be EF-2 or stronger in a corridor extending from south-central Kansas to central Oklahoma. That includes Oklahoma City, Norman and Moore in Oklahoma, as well as areas just west of Wichita, Kansas.
Additionally, many of the areas facing the threat of strong tornadoes could also be hit by destructive hail of 2 inches or larger in diameter.
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Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to develop Friday afternoon across a broad area extending from the mid-Missouri Valley southward to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Damaging wind gusts, large hail and a couple of tornadoes are possible across the mid-Missouri Valley area through Friday evening, while 2-inch-plus diameter or larger hail and damaging winds are likely in the southern half of the severe weather threat area into the overnight hours.
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A few severe storms are forecast to develop across parts of Iowa on Saturday, gradually diminishing in coverage southeastward toward the lower Ohio Valley.
Scattered severe thunderstorms are also predicted in portions of South Texas, with an isolated severe weather risk across a broader area of the southern Plains.