Parts of the Midwest and South are facing the possibility torrential rains and life-threatening flash floods. The fresh storms on Friday come as many communities are still reeling from severe tornadoes that destroyed whole neighborhoods and killed at least seven people. Kentucky's governor said floodwaters swept away and killed a boy Friday in his state. Forecasters warned of catastrophic weather on the way, with satellite imagery showing thunderstorms lining up like freight trains. Those who died in the initial wave of storms on Wednesday and early Thursday were in Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri. Forecasters say it was the opening act for days of wild weather that could bring flash floods across the nation's midsection.

The deadliest tornado in recorded U.S. history occurred 100 years ago. The Tri-State Tornado touched down in southeastern Missouri on March 18, 1925. It tore through Missouri, Illinois and into Indiana with a mile-wide funnel, killing 695 people and injuring more than 2,000. It was on the ground for nearly four hours and covered 219 miles. Mary Riseling coordinated a six-day commemoration for the Jackson County Historical Society in Murphysboro, Illinois, where 234 people died. Christine Wielgos of the National Weather Service says the ferocious storm hit at a them when neither reliable weather forecasting nor weather warning systems were in place.

Residents and work crews in the South and Midwest are beginning to clean up and survey the destruction from a series of storms that kicked up wildfires, tornadoes and dust storms. The severe weather that first developed Friday and barreled across seven states left at least 41 people dead. Wind-driven wildfires across Oklahoma destroyed more than 400 homes. Four deaths were blamed on the fires or high winds. In North Carolina, two boys were killed when a 3-foot wide tree fell on their home. And in Missouri, scattered twisters killed at least a dozen people.

A sweeping storm system moving across the U.S. threatens to bring tornadoes, blizzards and possibly wildfires to different regions of the country. The National Weather Service says an outbreak of severe storms ramping up Friday afternoon could spawn tornadoes, with the greatest risk in Missouri and Illinois as well as portions of Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. Heavy snow and high winds in the Great Plains could make travel treacherous in the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota. Forecasters say strong winds and warm, dry weather farther south pose a critical risk of wildfires in northwest Texas, Oklahoma and a portion of southeast Kansas. Tornado threats will push into the South on Saturday.

Powerful storms that killed three people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town are charging across the nation, threatening more communities in the central to eastern United States with wide-ranging weather. Forecasters also are warning that a Pacific storm was expected to bring widespread rain and mountain snow across California and other parts of the West into Friday. Blizzard conditions in Nebraska and parts of southern Minnesota made travel there dangerous on Wednesday morning. A tornado watch was issued for portions of North Carolina and Virginia until Wednesday evening.

Powerful storms were threatening communities across the country with weather ranging from fire in the Southern High Plains to blizzards in the Midwest. Forecasts on Tuesday also predicted dust storms in the southwest, tornadoes in the South and blizzard conditions in the Central Plains, and were forcing some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The storms are among the first big tests for meteorologists at the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired under President Donald Trump. New Orleans moved up its two biggest Mardi Gras Day parades and cut down their routes to try to avoid the potentially destructive weather.

Tornado-spawning storms tearing across the eastern U.S. overnight killed a toddler in Michigan and injured five people in Maryland and eight more in Ohio. The toddler was killed and his mother was injured when a tornado struck suburban Detroit without warning. Officials say the tornado tore through several neighborhoods Wednesday — and there was no advance notice that would have normally led to the activation of warning sirens. Meanwhile, in Maryland, at least five people were injured when a tornado collapsed structures there. And early Thursday, a suspected tornado in Ohio ripped away a gas station canopy and damaged a restaurant and a store. An official says eight people were left with minor injuries, mostly from flying debris.