Rounds of potent thunderstorms are expected to wallop the central and eastern U.S. this weekend, unloading hail, high winds, flash floods and possible tornadoes over a vast swath of the country.
The multi-day severe weather threat has already led to deadly flooding in Texas and damaging tornadoes in Illinois and Iowa. In the Dallas metro area, one man was pronounced dead this week after he was found trapped in his vehicle by rising floodwaters, according to the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department.
On June 5, flood watches remained active across parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. Officials in multiple states warned residents not to drive through flooded roads and to stay updated with the latest forecasts.
Fueling the severe weather outlook is the clashing of warm air from the Gulf with cool air coming off the Rocky Mountains, according to AccuWeather. The storms’ impact is likely to be felt from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast, including Maine and New York.
A three-day forecast from the Weather Prediction Center shows heavy rain is expected across the central and eastern U.S. through the weekend.
What states will see severe weather through the weekend?
On June 5, an area from eastern New Mexico to western Texas and portions of southeastern Colorado is at risk of high, damaging wind gusts and possible tornadoes, forecasters said.
According to the National Weather Service, storms brewing in the southern Plains, including parts Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, could drench areas in over 3 inches of rain by the weekend.
Beginning on June 6, the storms will stretch to the Northeast, including Upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Maine, forecasters said, warning residents to prepare for heavy rain and powerful wind gusts.
The weekend will see some of the strongest storms in Oklahoma, northern Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri, according to AccuWeather. Severe weather could also bring dangerous weather conditions as far east as Georgia, the Carolinas and parts of Virginia.
Parts of the central U.S. are still recovering from a major outbreak of tornadoes and powerful storms last month that killed at least 28 people and injured dozens more.
2 construction workers killed by falling crane as high winds lash Florida
A giant crane collapsed at a construction site on Florida’s Merritt Island on June 4, killing two people in what has been described as “a serious weather-related incident.”
At the time, a storm moving offshore led to peak wind gusts of 45-55 mph in the area. The National Weather Service office in Melbourne couldn’t definitively say if the storms were the direct cause of the wind gusts, said meteorologist Timothy Sedlock.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is leading an investigation into the death of the workers, who have not been identified.
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Tyler Vazquez and Dave Berman, Florida Today
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thunderstorms, tornado threats take aim at a large portion of U.S.