Five million people are at risk of severe storms on Thursday across eastern Nebraska, northern Missouri, most of Iowa, and southern Minnesota, with hazards including large hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes. The severe weather is expected to continue throughout the Easter weekend as a cold front moves south through the West and central U.S. This front will bring heavy snow and rain to the region, with one to two feet of snow forecast for Wyoming and 6-12 inches for Colorado. The Rockies could see up to two feet of snow at higher elevations, with winter weather advisories in place in Boulder, Colorado. The heavy wet snow may lead to broken branches and power outages.
In the central states, scattered thunderstorms are expected along the eastern flank of the cold front on Friday, with 40 million people at risk of severe weather from northern Texas to northern Michigan. Cities including Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and Chicago could see very large hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes. On Saturday, 12 million people in southern Texas to southern Missouri will be at risk, with a further 11 million at risk on Sunday from eastern Texas through central Missouri.
The system will also bring flood threats as repeated rounds of storms drop 2-4 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts in some areas. There is a moderate risk of flooding by Saturday in parts of the central U.S., with cities such as Tulsa and St. Louis at the greatest risk. In the Southwest, there is an extreme risk of wildfires on Thursday, with 9 million people under red flag warnings due to wind gusts and low humidity creating extremely critical fire risk, especially in New Mexico.
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