Dangerous tornado outbreak heads to the South: Latest forecast

(NEW YORK) — A dangerous tornado outbreak is headed to the South, where intense, long-track tornadoes reaching EF-3 or higher are possible Friday evening.

Damaging winds and large hail are also a threat all the way to Tennessee and Indiana, as is flash flooding, which could stretch from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania.

The storms will start up in eastern Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas Friday afternoon and will strengthen in the evening along the Mississippi River from Louisiana to Mississippi to Memphis.

To the north, along the Ohio River Valley, Friday thunderstorms could spark several inches of rain and flash flooding.

The same storm system will bring snow from Iowa to Michigan on Saturday morning. This storm will then move into the Northeast on Saturday, bringing rainy, windy and chilly conditions.

The severe weather system has been deadly; two men drowned after their car was swept away by floodwaters in southern Missouri Thursday night, as the storm made its way through the Midwest.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol incident report, 19-year-old Alexander Roman-Ranelli and 20-year-old Devin Holt were among six people in a car that was “swept downstream by fast moving current” in rural Wright County.

The four others were found uninjured and were rescued from the water, the report said.

ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.