- A severe storm hit the Midwest on Thursday, and it is expected to continue and grow on Friday.
- At least 11 tornadoes were reported, with some of them causing damage in small Wisconsin communities.
- Similar severe storms are expected to continue through the weekend.
A storm system has brought severe weather to multiple Midwest states on Thursday and Friday, and it is set to move through the Great Plains over the weekend.
The storm has brought — and may continue to bring — threats such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and destructive straight-line winds, according to The Weather Channel.
On Thursday, this severe weather caused damage to businesses and homes, forced road closures and knocked down power lines, per The New York Times.
Tornadoes hit small towns in Wisconsin
On Thursday, there were at least 11 tornadoes reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois, as thunderstorms hit areas across the Midwest, per CNN.
The small town of Mayville, Wisconsin, with a population of around 5,100, was among the places hit by tornadoes.
Here’s a look at the tornado that hit the town in a video posted on X.
Mayville Mayor Rob Boelk said there were no serious injuries reported and that authorities are assessing the damage.
“The whole south end of town has been hit pretty hard,” Boelk said to The New York Times.
One X user posted some videos of the damage in Mayville.
The nearby small town of Juneau also received significant damage from the tornado. Juneau has a population of around 2,500 and emergency crews have been working to clear obstructed roads and fix power outages.
There were several tornadoes reported in western Wisconsin, in the areas of New Richmond and Hammond, which are in the Minneapolis metro area. There was no property damage or injuries reported in this area, per The New York Times.
Thursday’s severe weather in the Midwest
According to NBC, there were no reports of deaths or serious injuries from the severe weather that hit Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois on Thursday.
There were around 400,000 homes and business that were without power Thursday evening due to the storm. Around 181,000 of the customers without power were in Michigan.
Along with the severe thunderstorms, winds and tornadoes, there was hail “the size of hen eggs, or around 2 inches in diameter,” reported in the Madison, Wisconsin, area, according to NBC.
The storm also hit Chicago, where Beyoncé’s concert at Soldier Field was delayed several hours due to a downpour of rain, per USA Today. The show was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and didn’t start until around 10:15 p.m.
Severe weather forecast through the weekend
On Friday, the thunderstorms are expected to move and broaden, potentially stretching from eastern Texas to the Northeast. The severe weather will likely be concentrated over the middle Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley.
A number of major cities such as Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Cincinnati and St. Louis are also at risk of severe weather, according to The New York Times.
Thunderstorms and strong winds are expected on Friday and highly organized storms will have “potential to produce large to giant hail and a couple of strong tornadoes,” according to the National Weather Service.
The periods of rain and severe weather are expected to last longer on Friday than they did on Thursday.
Severe storms are also expected on Saturday in the eastern U.S., stretching from New York to North Carolina, per The Weather Channel. Parts of the South, specifically Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, are also at risk of the storms.
The primary threat on Saturday will be wind damage and large hail, but there is the possibility of tornadoes.
On Sunday, there is the potential of severe storms through the central and southern Plains.