Live updates: Life-threatening storms target the Heartland, intense tornadoes and huge hail possible

Key Points:

• A severe weather outbreak including over 100 tornado warnings and multiple tornadoes struck the central U.S., spanning roughly 1,500 miles from the Plains to the Midwest, causing widespread damage to homes, infrastructure, and power outages affecting more than 100,000 customers.
• Marathon County, Wisconsin, was heavily impacted with around 75 homes damaged by a likely tornado, though no injuries were reported; emergency crews are focused on recovery and have urged the public to avoid the area.
• Significant power outages have been reported across Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kansas, with Illinois hardest hit and thousands of customers still without electricity as storms continue to move through the region.
• The Storm Prediction Center issued multiple Tornado Watches and upgraded the severe weather risk to Level 4 out of 5 for parts of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, warning of potential EF-3 or stronger tornadoes, large hail up to tennis ball size, and damaging wind gusts.
• Flash flooding is a growing concern due to saturated soils and repeated heavy rainfall, particularly in the Midwest, with historic flooding already occurring in Michigan and Wisconsin; residents are advised to stay alert as additional severe weather and flooding threats continue into the weekend.