Tornado Threat Looms as Devastating Twisters Tear Through Multiple States

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Several states remain under tornado watch on Thursday, following days of extreme weather across the country.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches in parts of four states on Thursday—Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. These watches were due to expire at 11 a.m. ET.

Tornado watches mean that conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop, and they urge those in the area to be on alert for a warning to be issued.

Several southeastern states are at risk of experiencing extreme weather on Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. The states between Texas and South Carolina are under enhanced threat, facing risks of severe storms that could produce large hail and damaging winds.

A home struck by a tornado on May 7, 2024, in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. Several states remain under tornado watch on Thursday.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The high-risk area encompasses a population of nearly 22 million.

The warning said that severe storms that had the capability of producing tornadoes were possible in parts of central and northern Texas on Thursday afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service also issued flash flood warnings for several states, including Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky. The warnings, which are the highest alert level for flooding, call on residents to move immediately to higher ground and avoid walking or driving through flood waters.

The latest warnings come after days of severe weather that began in the Plains, spread to the Midwest, and is now hitting the southeastern U.S.

Several states were struck by strong storms and tornadoes on Wednesday, with Tennessee being especially badly hit. At least four tornadoes were reported to have hit the state, damaging buildings and downing trees and power lines, officials said.

At least two people were reported to have died in Tennessee due to the bad weather. One person died in Maury County, where a tornado was reported to have touched down, and a second person, a 22-year-old man, was reported to have died after a car was struck by a tree that fell during a storm, according to the Associated Press.

Officials said that one person was also killed in North Carolina after a tree hit the car they were in, per the AP.

Dramatic videos shared on social media also showed a tornado ripping through Michigan and destroying a FedEx facility on Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, a tornado in Oklahoma left one person dead.

The U.S. has seen a relentless streak of tornadoes in recent weeks, with at least one reported every day since April 25, according to CNN.

In April, the U.S. experienced at least 300 tornadoes, the second-highest figure in the month on record.