Live updates: Tornadoes threaten 50M in the Midwest, Artemis II aces first maneuvers in orbit

The existing Tornado Watch area, which includes parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin has been expanded into Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, Madison and Sheboygan, among other areas in Wisconsin, are now under Tornado Watch through 8 pm CST.

The threat is being driven by a strengthening area of low pressure moving out of the Plains and into the Midwest and Great Lakes, helping to fuel widespread thunderstorm development across the region.

A Level 3 out of 5 (Enhanced Risk) for severe storms is in place from far eastern Iowa through southern Wisconsin and into central and northern Illinois.This includes major population centers such as Milwaukee, Chicago, Davenport, and St. Louis, where the potential for significant severe weather will be highest.

FOX Weather Storm Tracker Corey Gerkin and Brandon Copic are in Iowa tracking down a reported tornado, while FOX Weather Meteorologist Ian Oliver analyzes the threat from the studio.

Multiple trained spotters reported a tornado at 4:16 pm CDT over Kalona, Iowa, roughly 12 miles north of Washington, moving Northeast at 40 mph.

A Confirmed Tornado Warning from the National Weather Service said, "Lying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely."

Areas near the reported tornado including Iowa City, Riverside, Hills, River Junction, Sharon Center, Hills Access, and Johnson County Fairgrounds should be on alert.

NASA’s Artemis II mission management team polled “Go” for the translunar injection burn to send the crew in the Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.

This critical milestone will and send humans around Earth’s closest celestial neighbor for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The spacecraft will ignite its main engine on the service module for five minutes and 49 seconds beginning at 7:49 p.m. EDT.

Orion’s main engine provides up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds.

FOX Weather meteorologist tracks Thursday’s severe weather threat across the Midwest and Great Lakes, highlighting timing and potential impacts. FOX Weather Exclusive Storm Tracker Brandon Copic reports live from Iowa while tracking a warned storm that’s showing troubling signs.

No one is going around the moon on an empty stomach!

Now that the crew is up and it for big day of spaceflight, like the Orion Spacecraft, they're going to need to be properly fueled.

What's on the menu?

There are 189 unique menu items available to the crew for the mission, all while considering shelf life, nutritional value and compatibility with Orion’s overall mass.

"Food selections are developed in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie needs, hydration and nutrient intake while accommodating individual crew preferences," a statement from NASA reads.

Unexpected items include macaroni and cheese, barbecue baked brisket, butternut squash, cobbler and lemonade.

Shelf-stable foods help maintain food safety and quality throughout the ship, while also reducing the risk of crumb-fouling instruments.

For more on the Artemis II menu, check out the FOX Weather story below.

The Artemis II crew is awake and back in action, gearing up for a critical phase of their mission.

After several hours of rest, the four astronauts were roused by Mission Control following a second sleep period. Their wake-up call featured John Legend’s “Green Light" featuring Andre 3000, with additional messages of encouragement and well-wishes from NASA teams on the ground.

The headline event today is the trans-lunar injection burn, scheduled for 6:49 p.m. CST. The maneuver—expected to last approximately 5 minutes and 49 seconds—will propel the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and set it on its trajectory toward the Moon.

Since launch, the crew has been coasting in a high Earth orbit, giving the Artemis II astronauts time to check systems and perform practice maneuvers aboard the Orion spacecraft. Their time in this orbit has also allowed them to assess conditions and ultimately commit to continuing their historic journey around the Moon.

And today's critical burn will do exactly that. The translunar burn will power the Orion spacecraft on it's trajectory on it's historic journey around moon, while also serving as the de-orbit burn that will bring the Artemis II crew back to Earth.

Stick with FOX Weather as we continue to track the historic Artemis II mission around the moon.

The atmosphere is priming the pump across the Midwest this afternoon as a powerful low-pressure system moves through the Missouri Valley. While the day began quietly for many, the FOX Forecast Center is tracking a rapid change in conditions as a warm front lifts north into Iowa and Illinois.

This movement is opening the door for warm, unstable air to flow into the region, providing the necessary fuel for severe thunderstorms to develop by mid-to-late afternoon.

As a result, a Tornado Watch is increasingly likely to be issued for the region later today by the Storm Prediction Center.

Forecasters are particularly concerned with intense winds just above the surface that are creating a twisting effect in the atmosphere; any individual storms that can tap into this energy will have the potential to rotate quickly.

This setup poses a significant risk for tornadoes, localized damaging wind gusts, and hail, especially for residents in southern and eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.

With the window for the most intense activity expected to open soon, those in the path of these storms should remain weather-aware and be ready to seek shelter.

The FOX Forecast Center has identified a bullseye for tornado activity today, with the highest threat centered over parts of eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.

Cities in this high-risk zone—including Davenport, Cedar Rapids, and Rockford—are bracing for the potential of strong, long-track tornadoes as the atmosphere rapidly destabilizes.

This elevated risk area extends along the I-80 and I-39 corridors, where atmospheric conditions are most favorable for the development of rotating supercells.

People in surrounding major hubs like Chicago, Madison, and Peoria are also under a substantial threat and should have a plan in place to seek shelter immediately if warnings are issued later this afternoon.

Millions of Americans are facing a double-header of dangerous weather as a powerful storm system delivers a one-two punch across the central and eastern U.S.

Today’s focus remains squarely on the Midwest, where a Level 3 out of 5 risk is in effect for a significant tornado threat and 50-mph wind gusts.

As a new storm system develops, the severe weather setup will shift farther west and south by Friday.

Tomorrow, the threat moves into a new corridor, with cities from Des Moines to Oklahoma City on alert for storms capable of producing tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.

Power outages are climbing across Wisconsin as heavy ice and gusty winds take a toll on the electrical grid, with over 28,000 customers currently in the dark.

The hardest-hit areas include Menominee and Waupaca counties, where significant icing has caused power lines to snap and tree limbs to fail.

Ice is building up across a wide swath of central and northern Wisconsin this morning, with Ice Storm Warnings in effect for 15 counties, including Marathon, Portage, and Wood.

Forecasters are reporting significant icing on trees and power lines, with accumulations of up to 0.50 inches of ice possible through the early afternoon.

This heavy ice loading, combined with wind gusts up to 35 mph, has made power outages and tree damage "likely" across the region.

The glaze has already turned major highways into skating rinks, particularly north of the I-94 corridor.

While temperatures are expected to rise and transition the freezing rain to liquid by mid-afternoon, the morning commute remains extremely hazardous for cities like Wausau, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids.

The FOX Forecast Center is highlighting a perfect storm of meteorological ingredients coming together today to create a significant severe weather threat across the Midwest.

A powerful low-pressure system is currently deepening as it tracks toward the Great Lakes, acting as the engine for today’s storms.

This system is pulling a surge of warm, moist air from the Gulf of America northward, which will collide with a trailing cold front to create a highly unstable environment by mid-afternoon.

The primary concern for forecasters today is the presence of intense wind shear—the change in wind speed and direction with height. As the low-pressure center strengthens, it is creating a twisting effect in the lower levels of the atmosphere.

When combined with the rising heat and humidity, this shear will allow individual storms to develop into discrete supercells.

These rotating storms are the most dangerous variety, as they are capable of producing large hail, damaging straight-line winds, and strong, long-track tornadoes.

Freezing rain continues to plague central and northern Wisconsin this morning, with a significant glaze of ice impacting travel from Wausau through Green Bay.

The FOX Forecast Center expects these icy conditions to persist through the morning hours, specifically targeting a corridor between I-94 and the Upper Peninsula border.

Drivers in cities like Rhinelander and Sheboygan should prepare for slick roads and hazardous bridge decks as this stubborn wintry mix lingers before finally transitioning to rain later today.

A significant late-season winter storm is creating hazardous travel conditions across central Wisconsin this morning as freezing rain coats major thoroughfares, including I-90 in Mauston.

A glaze of ice up to 0.25 inches has made road surfaces extremely slick, particularly on elevated bridges and overpasses where temperatures have hovered just below freezing.

Authorities are urging motorists to exercise extreme caution or avoid travel altogether until temperatures rise later today and the icy mix transitions to plain rain.

The Artemis II crew reported a slightly chilly environment inside the Orion spacecraft this morning, prompting a quick request to Mission Control in Houston to adjust the thermostat.

Flight controllers are currently working with the crew to fine-tune the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) to raise the cabin temperature.

These minor adjustments are a standard part of the mission's early phase as the crew and ground teams learn how the spacecraft’s thermal systems react to the extreme temperature fluctuations of Earth orbit.

The Artemis II crew has successfully completed the perigee raise burn, a critical maneuver that has officially lifted the lowest point of the Orion spacecraft’s orbit around Earth.

Working in tandem with Mission Control in Houston, the four-person crew executed the engine fire to further refine their trajectory and prepare the vehicle for the deep-space environment.

With this milestone achieved and the spacecraft's orbit properly shaped, the crew is now settling back into a scheduled rest period before the mission’s next major phase.

Residents across California were jolted awake early Thursday morning as a magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck the Santa Cruz Mountains at 1:41 a.m. PT.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered just one mile from Boulder Creek and was felt across a nearly 100-mile stretch, including San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.

While the event was originally reported as a magnitude 5.1, it was quickly revised downward to 4.6.

Despite the early morning scare, there have been no immediate reports of significant structural damage or injuries. Residents near the epicenter described a sharp jolt followed by several seconds of light to moderate shaking, resulting in minor issues like broken dishes and items falling from shelves.

This earthquake triggered automated ShakeAlerts to smartphones across the Bay Area—a standard procedure for quakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher.

Seismologists noted that while this region is famously home to the San Andreas Fault and the site of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, today’s event was a moderate reminder of the area’s persistent seismic activity and did not signal an imminent larger quake.

The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a dangerous Level 3 out of 5 severe storm risk today across the Midwest, with Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis facing the greatest threat.

A deepening low-pressure system will pull a warm front through the region, rapidly destabilizing the atmosphere and triggering discrete supercells by mid-to-late afternoon.

While damaging winds and hail are expected, the primary concern is the potential for strong EF-2 or higher tornadoes along a 700-mile path stretching from Missouri to Michigan.

Beyond the tornado threat, a tight pressure gradient will produce non-thunderstorm wind gusts up to 50 mph across Illinois and Indiana.

As the system’s cold front shifts east tonight, the focus will turn to heavy rain and localized flash flooding in the Ohio Valley, where totals of 1-2 inches are expected through early Friday.

Artemis II roared into space on a mission to make history after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is humanity’s return to deep space, and a the beginning of a bold journey around the Moon.

Stay locked with FOX Weather for every second of this historic mission.

It has been an active morning for the Artemis II crew as they balance spacecraft maintenance with critical orbital maneuvers.

After a successful proximity operations demonstration, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen worked closely with Mission Control in Houston to resolve a hardware hiccup.

Here is what the crew is focusing on this morning:

Toilet restored to service: Following the earlier proximity ops, the crew reported a blinking fault light on the spacecraft’s waste management system. Mission control teams successfully assessed the data and collaborated with the crew to troubleshoot the issue, restoring the toilet to normal operations.

Refining the orbit: The crew was awakened at 7 a.m. ET this morning to prepare for the perigee raise burn. This maneuver is designed to lift the lowest point of Orion’s orbit around Earth. Combined with the apogee raise burn completed on April 1, these engine fires are essential for shaping the spacecraft’s initial orbit and preparing it for the journey toward the Moon.

Scheduled rest: After a busy start to the day, the crew is currently wrapping up their morning tasks. They are scheduled to resume their sleep period around 9:40 a.m. ET to ensure they are fully rested for the high-stakes translunar operations ahead.

The crew remains in high spirits, reporting that the views of Earth from their current altitude are "absolutely breathtaking" as they await the final "Go" to head for the Moon.

As the crew settles into their second day in space, we are looking back at yesterday’s historic sunset launch from Kennedy Space Center. From the final "Go" for weather to the moment the SLS rocket cleared the tower, you can revisit our full coverage of the Artemis II liftoff here.

While we shift our focus to the severe weather threat in the Midwest today, we will continue to provide live mission milestones as the Orion spacecraft prepares for its critical journey toward the Moon.