Severe storms are expected this afternoon and evening, with damaging winds as the primary concern, though hail and tornadoes are also possible, forecasters say.

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center has issued a rare "high risk" outlook indicating forecasters' confidence in numerous, powerful tornadoes, particularly in parts of Mississippi and Alabama. The severe weather is forecast to get underway by late morning in Louisiana and Mississippi,

A huge storm system crossing the U.S. threatens to unleash tornadoes Friday in the Mississippi Valley, blizzards in the northern Plains and dry, gusty conditions in Texas and Oklahoma that pose an extreme risk of wildfires.

The threat of violent tornadoes in parts of the U.S. proved deadly as well as destructive as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, with at least 16 people killed and scores of homes decimated.

A sprawling storm system crossing the U.S. on Friday overturned semitrucks on highways and fanned wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma, where officials called for ev