More than 110 damaging storm reports were filed from Texas to Minnesota to Ohio, including six tornadoes in southern Minnesota.
Wind gusts in Iowa reached 75 mph as tennis-ball-sized hail fell in Nebraska. Winds in Texas gusted to 60 mph, destroying a car wash. Trees in Ohio were uprooted as winds also gusted to more than 60 mph.
This severe weather is now moving into the Ohio Valley and parts of the Northeast, potentially bringing damaging winds, a few tornadoes and hail. Flash flooding also is possible.
A cold front and low-pressure system are moving through Texas and into the southern Plains, which are seeing heavy rain and possibly flash flooding.
Flash flood watches already have been posted from Dallas to Oklahoma City to Little Rock.
Some parts in the region could see more than half a foot of rain.