A mother and daughter were killed Thursday night in western Oklahoma when their car was struck by a tornado at the start of two days of severe storms across the Plains and Midwest.
County Sheriff Major Tony Robinson told CNN that the two were traveling near Highways 60 and 243 west of Fairview, Oklahoma, when the tornado struck.
A tornado warning was issued for parts of Major County between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM PT. The storm also hit a semitrailer in the county, about 130 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, according to a National Weather Service report.
Thursday night’s storm produced a total of seven tornado reports from the Texas Panhandle to south-central Kansas. Hail the size of a golf ball also fell in the area.
The National Weather Service reported that a tornado downed trees and power lines and damaged buildings in Grant County, Oklahoma.
Severe storms are possible over a wide area from Wisconsin south to Texas late Friday afternoon and evening.
But the most severe storms are most likely to occur in Level 3/5 danger areas in parts of seven central U.S. states, including Kansas City. Springfield, Missouri. Fayetteville, Arkansas. and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tornadoes, some of them strong (EF2 or higher), lime-sized hail or larger, and damaging winds are all possible.
The storm is being fueled by a surge in energy from changes in the jet stream, as well as unusually warm air for early March. Dozens of cities from Chicago to the Southeast could experience record high temperatures on Friday.
Friday’s threat fuel will lose some steam on Saturday. Still, at least sporadic severe storms are possible, especially from Texas to the lower Mississippi River and eastern Great Lakes.
Winds that could bring down trees and power lines were a major concern Saturday for all threatened areas, including Houston and Buffalo, New York. Although tornadoes are unlikely to occur, isolated tornadoes cannot be completely ruled out. Isolated large hail is also possible in Texas.
CNN’s Ruben Correa and meteorologist Brianna Waxman contributed to this report.
