Live updates: Strong tornadoes, baseball-size hail target America's Heartland in storm outbreak

FOX Weather reports a widespread, dangerous severe weather outbreak across the Central U.S., putting millions at risk of strong tornadoes, very large hail, and damaging winds.

“A Confirmed Tornado Warning was reported just three miles North of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city home to more than 400,000 people”

FOX Weather

The article warns that more than 15 million Americans are under Severe Weather Alerts.

FOX Weather

Tornado Watches cover large swaths of the Plains and Midwest, including parts of southeast Kansas, southwestern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Some watches run until 1 A.M. CST or 10 p.m. CST.

The piece highlights large-hail threats described in multiple ways, including scattered hail up to 2 inches, a separate watch citing tennis-ball-sized hail of 2.5 inches, and a headline referencing baseball-size hail.

It emphasizes a heightened tornado risk in a Level 3/5 zone across parts of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

It also notes an increased tornado threat in parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

The article provides multiple confirmed tornado reports and active warnings.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa issued a Tornado Warning at 6:34 p.m. CST for northwestern Rogers County, southeastern Osage County, southern Washington County and northeastern Tulsa County until 7:30 p.m. CST.

FOX Weather

The warning said a confirmed tornado was located over Turley moving northeast at 30 mph and listed Skiatook, Turley, Ramona, Vera, Oologah, Collinsville, Sperry, Owasso and Tulsa in or near the path.

In Michigan, storm chasers and emergency officials confirmed multiple tornado touchdowns in St. Joseph County, with damage reported in Juno Lake, Edwardsburg and the southwest side of Three Rivers.

The NWS said at 3:52 p.m. EST a "large and extremely dangerous tornado" was located over Three Rivers moving northeast at 40 mph.

The National Weather Service in Norman confirmed at least three tornadoes hit western Oklahoma during Thursday night, with survey teams working in Major, Alfalfa, and Grant Counties to finalize counts and intensity ratings.

A powerful nighttime tornado in Oklahoma killed a mother and her 13-year-old daughter, identified as Jodie Owens and Lexi Owens.

“A Confirmed Tornado Warning was reported just three miles North of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city home to more than 400,000 people”

FOX Weather

Jacob Zonts, Jodie’s brother and Lexi’s uncle, spoke with FOX Weather about the family’s loss.

The FAA issued a ground stop for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with the hold on departures destined for Atlanta scheduled to remain in effect until 2:45 PM ET.

The article reports over 3,100 total flight disruptions across the U.S.

Chicago O'Hare and Midway recorded at least 830 disruptions, including over 715 delays and 115 cancellations.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe declared a State of Emergency and activated the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan to expedite assistance.

FOX Weather frames the meteorological setup as 'conditional' but volatile.

Record-breaking heat and high humidity have pushed temperatures into the 70s and 80s—roughly 20 to 30 degrees above average—creating high-octane fuel for storms if the atmospheric 'cap' breaks.

FOX Weather

Forecasters warn that if isolated supercells form they could become violent immediately.

If storms upscale into a line overnight the threat may shift toward damaging winds.

The article notes Storm Prediction Center tools, including a new Conditional Intensity Group (CIG) feature, where CIG 2 signals a dangerous environment for intense tornadoes EF3+ or giant hail and Level 3 flags rare, historic-level outbreaks.

It urges residents in the risk area to stay alert, have multiple ways to receive warnings, and be ready to act quickly.

Storms are expected to intensify this afternoon and evening, with Future Radar showing thunderstorms firing by 5:00 p.m. CT and severe weather continuing into Saturday morning for some areas.