Around 30 million people from Texas to Illinois are bracing for another day of potentially destructive storms following a tornado outbreak that slammed communities across the Heartland to the East Coast.
Since Thursday, at least 28 people have been killed, including 19 in Kentucky, where a powerful EF-3 twister tore through Laurel County in the southeastern part of the state, officials said.
At least 250 tornadoes were reported since Thursday. They killed two people in Virginia and seven in Missouri, where a funnel cloud with a preliminary intensity rating of EF-3 — on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of zero to five — and packing 152 mph buzzsaw-like winds wreaked havoc in St. Louis, officials said.
Tony McFall wears his father’s cowboy hat, while looking over the debris, May 17, 2025, of his father’s and step-mother’s house, who lost their lives during the tornado in the neighborhood of Sunshine Hills in London, Kentucky.
Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Overnight, officials said suspected tornadoes hit Stafford, Reno and Grove Counties in Kansas, causing massive damage to the cities of Plevna and Grinnell. Grapefruit-size hail was also reported in Arnett in Anderson County, Kansas.
As first responders across the Heartland continued to search for victims on Monday morning and devastated residents combed through the rubble of their destroyed homes, more severe weather is being forecast.
Severe weather outlook.
ABC News
According to the National Weather Service, eastern Oklahoma — including the cities of Oklahoma City and Tulsa — was under a moderate risk of receiving destructive storms on Monday, as well as the cities of Fort Smith in northwest Arkansas and Joplin, Missouri. Possible high-end, long-track tornadoes, large hail and destructive thunderstorms could hit the areas, officials said.
An enhanced risk of severe weather is forecast from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri.
Tornado outbreak between May 15 and 18, 2025.
ABC News
Storms are expected to quickly explode and intensify on Monday afternoon from northeast Texas to eastern Kansas.
The bad weather is expected to spill into Tuesday. Flash flooding is possible in southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas through Tuesday morning.
A line of storms is forecast to sweep through the South on Tuesday, reaching Memphis and Nashville by Tuesday afternoon.
Record heat continues.
ABC News
Rain is forecast to spread to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City early Wednesday and scattered showers are expected to linger through Thursday.
Part of what’s been fueling the severe weather outbreak has been extremely hot temperatures, which are expected to continue through at least Wednesday.
In Texas, Dallas is expected to be in the mid-80s over the next three days, while San Antonio has the potential to break a daily high temperature record on Tuesday, when it is expected to reach 102 degrees. Houston could also see a daily record fall on Tuesday, when the temperature is forecast to rise to 98.
Meanwhile, Orlando, Florida, could break daily high temperature records with back-to-back days of 97-degree weather on Monday and Tuesday. Savannah, Georgia, could also set a new daily high temperature mark on Tuesday, when it is expected to reach 96 degrees.
