More than 450,000 without power as ‘violent’ storms batter central US: Live updates

The NWS Weather Prediction Center warned that the severe storms were shifting east and could bring heavy rain, thunderstorms or hail to parts of the Mid-Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Monday.

Storms currently over the central Plains and Ohio Valley are expected “to grow upscale and merge into a larger complex”, according to the weather warnings, while expanding through parts of Missouri, Illinois, western Kentucky and other neighboring states.

Meanwhile, dangerous and “potentially record-breaking” heat will continue to beat down on parts of Texas, the Western Gulf and southern Florida.

Multiple tornados ripped throughout Texas on Saturday evening with one plowing through Cooke County – approximately 50 miles north of Dallas – leaving seven people dead, including two children.

Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington confirmed that a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old were among those killed. The victims also included three family members who were found in a home near Valley View – a rural community close to the Oklahoma border.

“It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Mr Sappington said.

At least five people died in Arkansas as a result of the storm – one person in Benton County, local authorities said in a press conference on Sunday, two people in Marion County, the sheriff’s department said, one person in Baxter County, the sheriff’s department said, and a 26-year-old woman who was found outside a home in Boone County, according to AP.

The dazed residents of a remote north Texas county sifted through their mangled homes on Sunday after seven people there were killed when a tornado ripped through the region near the tiny community of Valley View.

Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said there’s “just a trail of debris left” in the area bordering Oklahoma where the dead included two children, ages 2 and 5, in Valley View, a town where barely 800 people live. The bodies of three family members were found in one residence, the sheriff said.

Read more from the Associated Press:

“Violent” tornadoes with wind gusts exceeding 90 miles per hour are likely in Oklahoma and Kansas today, according to the National Weather Service. Softball-sized hail is also possible in the region.

Dangerous storms will hit much of the central US today, bringing the possibility of “very large hail, hurricane-force gusts, and strong tornadoes” throughout the region, the NWS forecasted on Friday.

Get ready for one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina, experts say.

With hurricane-like winds already brewing in the Midwest this holiday weekend, here’s what you need to know about the upcoming hurricane season:

Memorial Day, which also marks the unofficial start to summer, is observed annually on the last Monday of May, with most Americans receiving the day off from work.

The nation commemorates the holiday with a service at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, with the president typically laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Read more about the holiday from The Independent’s Chelsea Ritschel:

The Midwest is bracing for storms that could bring “very large hail, hurricane-force gusts, and strong tornadoes” to the region, according to the National Weather Service.

These conditions come amid what is expected to be the busiest Memorial Day Weekend for travelers since 2005.

The NWS has also warned those celebrating outdoors or on the water to be aware of lightning and to check marine conditions before getting on a boat.

Corpus Christi and much of southern Texas will face excessive heat this weekend.

The heat index — that is, what the temperature feels like to people — could reach up to 118F.

“Take extra precautions when outside,” the National Weather Service advises. “Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”