Severe weather leaves millions across the U.S. bracing for heavy rain, hail and damaging winds

Severe weather moving across parts of the country over the next few days will bring destructive hail and damaging winds to more than 30 million people from the central Plains to the northern Great Lakes and strong storms for the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.

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On Tuesday, 6 million people are at risk from North Dakota to northern Texas for straight-line winds over 75 mph, hail and tornadoes. Cities affected by the storm system include Bismarck, Fargo, Sioux Falls and Omaha.

On Wednesday, cities including Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Kansas City and Wichita are expected to see damaging straight-line winds, hail and tornadoes.

The storm will also impact 43 million people from the central Plains to the northern Great Lakes on Thursday with hail, high winds and possible tornadoes.

More than 13 million people are under flood watches across portions of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Montgomery County Severe WX in Tennessee said in a post on X that a flood watch remains in effect until 1 p.m.

Elsewhere in the country, 19 million people are under heat advisories stretching from northern Minnesota to northeast Texas. In some cities, the heat index could reach 108 degrees Fahrenheit. By Friday, the heat reaches the mid-Atlantic, where up to two dozen record highs are possible, including in cities such as Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Richmond.