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**Severe Weather Outbreak Continues Across Plains, Midwest, and South, Threatening Intense Tornadoes and Destructive Winds**

A persistent outbreak of severe weather continues to batter portions of the Plains, Midwest, and South this week, with meteorologists warning of the potential for intense tornadoes, damaging hail, and destructive straight-line winds through Tuesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Storm Prediction Center has issued multiple tornado watches spanning from Oklahoma and Arkansas to Nebraska and Iowa.

The highest risk of severe weather, including strong to intense tornadoes (EF2 to EF3 potential), very large hail, destructive winds, and flash flooding, is concentrated in a region stretching from northern Texas through central and eastern Oklahoma and Kansas, northwest Arkansas, and much of Missouri. Major cities in this high-risk zone include Dallas-Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wichita, Fort Smith, and Kansas City.

The severe weather threat is expected to shift eastward, impacting parts of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee valleys. Southwestern Kentucky to middle and western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northern Alabama face the greatest risk in this area. While early supercell thunderstorms may bring the threat of strong tornadoes, wind damage is anticipated to become the primary concern as storms coalesce into lines or clusters. Cities under alert include Birmingham and Huntsville (AL), Memphis and Nashville (TN), Tupelo (MS), St. Louis, and Louisville (KY).

This latest round of severe weather follows a series of damaging storms that began last Thursday in the Great Lakes and Midwest and heavily impacted the Midwest, South, and East on Friday. A brief respite on Saturday was followed by a renewed wave of severe weather that started in the Plains on Sunday.

The preceding days saw over 90 reports of tornadoes, including:

* An EF2 in northwest Wisconsin near New Richmond on Thursday.
* EF3 damage from a tornado that struck St. Louis on Friday.
* EF4 devastation in Marion, Illinois, on Friday.
* At least EF3 damage from a tornado that ravaged the London, Kentucky, area Friday night.

Residents in the affected areas are urged to stay informed, monitor weather updates, and take necessary precautions, including having a plan in place in case of a tornado or severe thunderstorm.

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