Massive winter storm rolls across U.S. with threat of blizzards, thunderstorms, tornadoes and wildfires

A powerful storm system that unleashed severe weather for millions of Americans from coast to coast this week is now taking aim at the nation’s midsection, bringing blizzard conditions to the northern Plains, thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes to the Midwest and South and an elevated risk of wildfires to the southern Plains.

“This storm is packing multiple life-threatening hazards, from fires and dust storms to tornadoes and flooding rainfall," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said Friday. "More than 150 million people are at risk of impacts across 30 states through the weekend.“

Timing and impacts

? Friday-Saturday: According to the National Weather Service’s latest forecast, the storm system will produce showers and severe thunderstorms over the central and southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley.

"Significant tornadoes, widespread damaging winds and large hail are likely," the weather service said.

The system will also continue to produce heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, where up to three feet of snow has already fallen.

Combined with wind gusts of up to 70 mph, heavy snow developing on the back side of the storm will create blizzard conditions across the northern Plains through Saturday.

? Saturday-Sunday: As the front moves eastward, showers and severe thunderstorms will develop over parts of the Ohio, Tennessee and lower Mississippi valleys and other parts of the Southeast.

"There is an additional threat of EF2-EF5 tornadoes," the weather service warned, with thunderstorms again accompanied by high winds and large hail.

Severe thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes will persist across the Southeast through most of the weekend, while heavy rainfall and high winds associated with the storm are expected in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Sunday.

Critical fire weather conditions across southern Plains

The weather service issued critical fire weather warnings across much of the southern Plains through the weekend, as high winds combined with low humidity and dry conditions on the back side of the storm will create an elevated risk for wildfires.

"Significant, dangerous wildfire-spread conditions are expected, with a wildfire outbreak possible across parts of the Southern Plains," the NWS said.

There were reports Friday of multiple wildfires in north Texas, where the risk of fire weather was considered "extreme."

According to KFDA-10 in Amarillo, Texas, evacuations were underway in Alanreed and Lake Tanglewood.

In a post on X, the Texas A&M Forest Service said it was responding to a 500-acre wildfire that forced the closure of Highway 70 in Roberts County.

Dust storms are also possible throughout the region.

“This is likely to be the worst dust storm so far this year,” Randall Hergert, a lead forecaster with the weather service in Albuquerque, N.M., told the Associated Press.

Wild winter weather

The storm is the latest in a series of systems to bring extreme weather to parts of the United States this winter. And this round has produced several tornadoes.

Early Thursday, a rare tornado touched down in Pico Rivera in East Los Angeles — part of the larger system that brought heavy rainfall to Southern California, triggering evacuation warnings and orders in burn-scar areas. According to the Los Angeles Times, the EF-0 tornado, with peak winds of 85 mph, downed trees and damaged several homes.

On Monday, a tornado touched down near Orlando, Fla., destroying several homes and hitting a local TV station in the middle of a live weather forecast.

WOFL-TV meteorologist Brooks Garner was on the air when he realized and told everyone in the studio to take cover.

"Get to your safe space under your desk. We're catching debris right now on the roof," Garner said. "?This is a tornado."

There was minimal damage to the building, and there were no reports of injuries.

A preliminary survey from the weather service indicated the tornado briefly reached EF-2 strength, with winds estimated at up to 115 mph.

"?I've been doing this for a very long time,” Garner told viewers after the storm passed. “That's the first time a tornado has hit me while I'm doing the weather.”