Severe Thunderstorms Possible Into This Weekend From Texas To The Midwest, Interior Northeast

Rob Shackelford and Jonathan Erdman Sat, March 7, 2026 at 12:51 PM UTC

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Severe weather is forecast into the weekend across much of the Central and Eastern US. Storms are possible from Texas to the interior Northeast and also include parts of the Midwest and the Southeast. This is part of a multiday siege of thunderstorms also with hail, damaging winds and flooding rain.

(MORE: Severe Weather Outbreak Maps Tracker)

Happening Now

Several line segments of thunderstorms are sweeping eastward across parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest.

A strong tornado struck Three Rivers and Union City, Michigan, Friday afternoon, killing at least three people.

(MORE: Latest News From The Plains And Midwest)

Several likely tornadoes have touched down between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Friday evening, killing two in Okmulgee County. Tornado reports have also come in across northern Texas and southwestern Arkansas.

Severe Threat Timing

Saturday

Some severe storms with strong wind gusts and hail are possible Saturday from the northern Appalachians to eastern and central Texas. The greatest chance of tornadoes is expected from northern Kentucky to southwestern New York.

Fortunately, few, if any, severe storms are forecast for Sunday. But the greatest threat for severe storms is located across North Carolina.

Next Week

Additional strong to severe storms are expected early to mid-next week when a strong cold front slices into the central and eastern U.S. as a strong upper-level low-pressure system over northern Mexico finally gets kicked into the Plains.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has already highlighted another threat of severe storms Tuesday and Wednesday, including some of the same areas hit this week in the Plains.

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(MAPS: 7-Day US Rain, Thunderstorm Forecast)

The severe threat shifts slightly to the east on Wednesday and stretches from eastern Texas to southwestern New York.

Check back with us at weather.com and The Weather Channel app for updates to this forecast.

In the meantime, make sure you are prepared before severe weather threatens your area.

Have multiple ways of receiving official National Weather Service watches and warnings, including ways to wake you up at night. Know where the safest place is to take shelter where you live and do so immediately when receiving a warning.

How Much Rain?

We've already seen flash flooding this week in parts of the Ohio Valley and Plains.

Water rescues were needed on flooded roads on the south side of the Dallas metro Wednesday. At least several inches of water impacted some homes and businesses in Millville, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, Wednesday. Several buildings were flooded in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, early Thursday.

More locally heavy rainfall is likely with these multiple rounds of thunderstorms through the middle of next week. Some areas from the Southern Plains into the Mississippi Valley may pick up an additional 3 inches or more of rain.

That could lead to additional flash flooding, particularly from the eastern half of Texas into eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Soaking A Drought

These parts of the country are very much in need of rainfall. Drought persists across much of the South, and the reason is actually fairly straightforward.

Data: US Drought MonitorImpacts So Far

At least five tornadoes were either sighted or detected by radar in the eastern Texas Panhandle, northwest Oklahoma and southern Kansas late Thursday night.

One large EF2 tornado claimed two lives in northwest Oklahoma Thursday night.

Damage was reported by storm spotters near Helena, Medford and Orienta, Oklahoma. Hail up to the size of hen eggs — 2.25 inches in diameter — was reported in Hall County, Texas.

Storm surveyors are going out to the damage in Three Rivers and Union City, Michigan, on Saturday.

Data: NOAA/NWS/SPC

Rob Shackelford is a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”