**Severe Weather Alert: Dangerous Storms and Possible Tornadoes Threaten Eastern US**

An extremely hazardous day of severe thunderstorms looms over the eastern half of the United States this Friday, bringing the potential for powerful, long-lasting tornadoes and hurricane-strength wind gusts. This elevated threat follows destructive weather that ravaged the Midwest and Great Lakes the previous day. The ongoing severe weather is part of a multi-day pattern expected to last into early next week.

Early Friday morning, severe thunderstorms continued from Arkansas through Kentucky, a carryover from Thursday night. Despite these overnight storms, meteorologists expect the atmosphere to quickly recharge, setting the stage for another violent round of storms starting in the afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has warned of a likely regional outbreak, including intense supercells, expected to impact more than 70 million people.

The highest risk zones for EF3-plus tornadoes and widespread damaging winds center on the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, affecting key states like Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois in the afternoon. Initial storms are most likely to produce dangerous supercells that could bring tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail. This threat is predicted to evolve into long storm lines in the evening, increasing the wind damage potential with gusts exceeding 75 mph and possibly causing damage over hundreds of miles.

The danger persists into the night, particularly for parts of Kentucky and other eastern areas. This poses a significant risk as nighttime tornadoes tend to be nearly twice as deadly compared to their daytime counterparts. The recent storms have already shown their destructive power, with at least 11 tornadoes reported across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois on Thursday. Significant damage in Dodge County, Wisconsin, prompted shelter-in-place alerts and displaced residents, with one person hospitalized in Juneau.

Power outages are widespread, with nearly 400,000 homes and businesses affected across five Midwest states, Michigan bearing the brunt with over 250,000 outages. Consumers Energy in Michigan is yet to assess the power restoration timeline.

As the storm system progresses, severe thunderstorm threats extend into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Saturday, primarily bringing damaging wind gusts and hail, though tornadoes cannot be ruled out. The southern Plains are also at risk starting Saturday afternoon, with continued severe weather expected in Oklahoma and Kansas through Sunday and Monday. The threat will circle back to the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, with further details to emerge in the coming days.