Relentless severe storms target Midwest, Mid-Atlantic ahead of holiday weekend

Severe thunderstorms are set to reignite Friday across parts of the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic coast. This is the same corridor that was slammed by Thursday's storms that have left over 500,000 customers without power. The relentless severe weather threat is expected to shift farther south through the holiday weekend.

THE TAKEAWAY

Parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic will see another round of damaging thunderstorms Friday.
Severe storms produced a 470-mile swath of damage reports from Michigan to Delaware on Thursday.
Severe weather will shift south into the Labor Day Weekend.

Severe thunderstorms are set to reignite Friday over more than 30 million people across parts of the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic coast, largely part of the same corridor that was slammed by Thursday's storms that have left over 500,000 customers without power.

The relentless severe weather threat is expected to shift farther south through the holiday weekend.

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Severe weather damage in Detroit on Sep. 3, 2026. (Mayor Mary Sheffield/X / FOX Weather)

The outages were concentrated primarily in the Detroit metropolitan area and southeastern Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, early Friday.

Strong wind gusts produced a 470-mile swath of damage reports from southern Michigan to Delaware.

Tornado-warned storm in Mentor, Ohio, on Sep. 3, 2026. (WC)

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said severe storms caused "significant damage" to parts of the city. Aerial images shared by the mayor's social media account showed at least one building destroyed and another with its roof torn off.

Buffalo, New York, set a daily rain record with over 3 inches of rain.

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The Pittsburgh Public Safety Department said heavy rain caused flooding that brought down trees and power lines.

Tree falls onto row home in Washington, D.C. on Sep. 3, 2026. (@dcfireems/X / FOX Weather)

A large tree fell on a row house in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood Thursday night. The DC Fire and EMS Department said everyone was evacuated safely.

The severe weather pattern began Tuesday and has pounded parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic with days of rain, damaging wind gusts and hail.

Storms are riding along the northern edge of a heat dome that's anchored over the Central Mississippi Valley, fueling the stormy pattern.

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Friday

Severe thunderstorms are developing Friday morning across parts of southern Michigan.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a Level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms across a corridor from southern Michigan to northern North Carolina on Friday.

Damaging wind gusts are again expected to be the main severe weather hazard.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to push into Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic around midday Friday.

Labor Day Weekend: Severe storms shift into the Southeast

The heat dome will finally begin to break down Saturday, and storms will shift into the Carolinas by Saturday afternoon.

Another Level 2 severe storm covers North and South Carolina, including Raleigh, Charlotte and Columbia.

"As storms move eastward across the region, flash flooding will remain possible but should be more isolated," the FOX Forecast Center said.

A Level 1 out of 4 flash flood risk is in place for Saturday.