Severe storms, tornadoes, hail, threaten South still reeling from weekend assault

Some parts of the South that took a deadly pounding from a severe storm and tornadoes last weekend face another round of violent weather starting Wednesday as a three-day storm system straddling Tornado Alley moves east.

About 118 million people live where severe storms are possible, AccuWeather warns.

The National Weather Service says the greatest risk for severe storms Wednesday will be along the infamous twister-plagued corridor from southeastern Oklahoma into far western Arkansas and into northern and central Texas.

The weather service's Storm Prediction Center has designated that stretch, as well as southeastern Kansas, an Enhanced Risk zone, meaning it has the potential for tornadoes, frequent lightning, damaging winds over 58 mph and hail up to 2 inches or larger.

In Oklahoma, which braces for such storms each spring, KOCO chief meteorologist Damon Lane tweets both practical and cautious advice: "Storms won't form until after 4. No need to cancel anything this evening. Just make sure you have a way of getting weather alerts delivered to your phone."

At least nine people were killed by the violent weather across that southern track during the weekend.

In this latest round of violent weather, cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Oklahoma City will be most at risk on Wednesday.

One of the biggest dangers over the next three days is the likelihood of thunderstorms bringing high winds and tornadoes while many people will be sleeping, AccuWeather warns. There is the concern that people will sleep through warnings or some others may not hear the dangerous storms coming.

The storms also pose a flash flood threat through Thursday morning from eastern Texas toward the Memphis metropolitan area in places already soaked by well above average rainfall.

At the same time, a separate area of severe thunderstorms, including a few tornadoes, is possible in the upper Midwest, including parts of Iowa, southern Wisconsin and western Illinois.

During the day Thursday, severe weather, including possible tornadoes, is expected to extend from southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana to areas near the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi.

On Friday, the violent system should reach the East Coast and Southeast, with a line of storms from Washington to Miami.