69 million along 1,500-mile stretch of US face threat of storms packing large hail, damaging winds on Thursday
Three people were killed in Pennsylvania on Tuesday when a serial derecho plowed across the state, and at least two people were killed by flash flooding in Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued as storms move across the US
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 7 p.m. ET for parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Damaging winds, hail and strong storms are all possible with this system.
CLEVELAND – A deadly stretch of severe weather will continue for the ninth-straight day on Thursday, with communities along a 1,500-mile swath of the U.S. from the Plains to the Great Lakes facing the threat of powerful thunderstorms packing damaging winds, hail and even some tornadoes.
Watch: Damage reported across Pittsburgh area after severe weather slammed Pennsylvania
This video shows the damage left behind when deadly severe weather tore across the Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The multiday threat began last week, and since then, at least five people have been killed by storm-related impacts.
Three people were killed in Pennsylvania on Tuesday when a serial derecho plowed across the state, and some 225,000 customers in Pennsylvania were still without power as of Thursday morning, according to FindEnergy.com.
Additionally, at least two people were killed by flash flooding in Oklahoma on Wednesday.
In total, over 69 million people will be at risk of seeing severe weather during the day on Thursday.
However, NOAA’ Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed nearly 36 million people from Texas to New York in a Level 2 out of 5 risk on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.
The threat includes cities such as Oklahoma City in Oklahoma, Columbus and Cleveland in Ohio, Nashville in Tennessee and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, which was devastated by the serial derecho on Tuesday.
In addition, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is now in effect until 7 p.m. ET Thursday for parts of northeast Kentucky, central and eastern Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania, the northern panhandle of West Virginia and Lake Erie.
An additional watch box was issued for counties in the heart of the Lone Star State, which included the Austin metro.
The main threats from storms that develop on Thursday will be damaging wind gusts and some hail.
However, there's also a tornado risk across an area stretching from northern Middle Tennessee to western Pennsylvania.