Several tornadoes hit Texas and Louisiana, while storms hit the southern United States

() — A wide range of extreme weather conditions affect the United States, as storms threaten heavy snow in the Southwest and a severe weather system arrives with the triple risk of tornadoes, damaging winds and rain in the South.

About 35 million people in parts of the Southern Plains and South are at risk Thursday from severe thunderstorms, the worst of which could unleash multiple rounds of ferocious winds, large hail and tornadoes, the Center warned. Storm Forecasting.

“Thursday and Thursday night: An intensifying system is expected to produce significant severe storms and heavy rain that could cause flash flooding,” the National Weather Service warned. hope you are.”

On Thursday night, the Storm Prediction Center reported several tornado reports in Texas and one in Louisiana at 7:40 p.m. local time.

In Shreveport, Louisiana, David Langston was inside a dry cleaner’s when a tornado struck, he told affiliate KSLA.

“The wind started picking up and this lady said, ‘My babies are in the car,'” Langston told the station. “And she wanted me to help her, and I said, ‘Come on.’ But then all of a sudden the wind got so strong that I said, ‘No, ma’am, don’t go outside.'”

His car was under a sign. If we had gone out, I mean, we would have been hit by that sign,” she added.

Langston said they rescued the two young children, unharmed, after the winds abated. “She just showed up, and 20 seconds later she was gone,” he said. “And I mean, total chaos. Glass breaks everywhere.”

A tornado watch issued Thursday night for parts of southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana was in effect until midnight.

Severe storm threat

A moderate threat, level 4 of 5, of severe storms exists for more than 8 million people in eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, and southeastern Oklahoma. Those areas include Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas; and Shreveport, Louisiana.

The storms also generated power outages in Texas. More than 345,000 homes and businesses in the state were without power as of 8:15 p.m. local time (9:15 p.m. ET), according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us.

A tornado watch is also in effect in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as of Thursday afternoon. A line of strong storms moving through Texas produced multiple 37 to 50 km/h wind gusts in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Due to the storms, flights at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport have been suspended since Thursday afternoon, which means that planes bound for that city will be held at their airports of origin, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Waco, Texas, face a severe storm risk level 3 out of 5. Cities with a risk level 2 out of 5 include Houston; Austin, Texas; and Jackson, Mississippi.

Torrential rains are also a concern. Rain could leave 2 inches of accumulation per hour in the strongest storms, leading to flash flooding.

More than 24 million people are under flood watch from Oklahoma to Ohio. Up to 5 inches of rain is forecast across the region, with isolated totals could exceed 8 inches.

The severe weather threat will move to the Southeast and Ohio Valley on Friday, with Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta and Louisville at risk.

And the same storm system is expected to bring heavy snow and ice to the Northeast and Great Lakes regions this weekend.