Friday's live blog: Violent tornadoes, large hail & winds

As we monitored all week, a severe outbreak unfolded from Texas to the Midwest this afternoon and evening. Weather & Radar meteorologists are monitoring the developing situation and updated this blog through Friday evening. Here is our live blog, and click the link below for the full meteorological set-up and the timing of the storm. Meteorologist Becca Parker was live on our YouTube page with the latest forecast. Meteorologist Mary Mays was also live to update the storm development at 3 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. CT.

Since the start of this tornado outbreak earlier today, there have been 51 reports of tornadoes extending from Arkansas and western Tennessee northward to Iowa and southern Wisconsin.

Little Rock, Ark., was hit by a destructive one earlier this afternoon. Here is video shared with us via Twitter from Gavin D. Jones:

A part of a roof inside a theater during a rock concert collapsed during the severe storms late Friday night in Belvidere, Ill. Details are a bit murky, but it looks like a tornado warning was posted at the time of the incident. There are reports of multiple injuries. More details to come as they develop.

The Storm Prediction Center has removed the high risk area that was over Iowa and Illinois. A high risk remains over far eastern Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi, and southwestern Tennessee. Powerful storms will continue to push east across the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys into the overnight.

A new tornado watch has been posted for eastern Illinois, western and central Indiana and western Kentucky through 2 a.m. CT. This includes Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis.

Hot off the presses... a new Potential Dangerous Situation (PDS) Tornado Watch has been posted across the Mid-South from northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama northward into central Tennessee. This includes Tupelo, Miss., Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Jackson and Nashville, Tenn.

A PDS Tornado Watch is issued when the likelihood of tornadoes, especially dangerous and destructive ones in excess of EF2 strength (wind speeds exceeding 135 mph), are high.

The images on social media from Little Rock, Ark., tornado show devastation to densely populated areas. Damage includes snapped cellular phone towers and multi-story apartment buildings being nearly destroyed.

The images we are seeing of damage and destruction in parts of Arkansas and Iowa are heartbreaking.

The Little Rock mayor has requested the National Guard for assistance with tornado recovery.

Storm chaser Tanner Charles shared this view of a house hit by a tornado just outside of Hedrick, Iowa. The elderly couple and their pooch survived by seeking shelter in the interior bathroom.

Remember, if you don't have storm shelter or safe room available, the best place to be during a tornado is an interior room away from windows. Bathtubs are great places to be safe. Remember, cars and mobile homes are not a safe place to be in a tornado.

The threat of tornadoes are in overdrive right now. There are 16 — yes 16 — tornado warnings posted from Texas to Iowa.

The severe storms rolling across Iowa this hour are producing very dangerous and photogenic twisters. A few storm chasers have seen twin tornadoes, including this one near Ollie, Iowa, in the southeastern quadrant of the state.

Another tornado warning, the second one in the past 45 minutes, has been posted for Little Rock. A tornado already roared across North Little Rock. Check out the video view in the 4 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. CT message.

Here is an interesting stat provided the National Weather Service. Current Tornado Watches cover more than 28 million people. That is just the population of Australia.

Within the past hour, tornado warnings have been posted in parts of Arkansas and Illinois. A tornado was observed moving across the Little Rock area while Peoria, Il.., is under a tornado warning.

Here is the view of the Little Rock, tornado:

This is the view of damage from the tornado

Storms have picked up quite a bit more within the last hour. These are already tornadic storms, several of them, not even In the highest threatened area yet. The clusters of storms are mostly in areas under slight or barely moderate risk.

The storms got ignited a couple of hours earlier than expected. This is just a sign that we will have a very long afternoon and evening.

The situation continues to grow more concerning for parts of the South and also the Midwest. The Storm Prediction Center has issued particularly dangerous situations in two areas, where there could be several (at least EF2) tornadoes. We are on the verge of experiencing a memorable day across parts of the central and southern U.S.

High-level threats are not issued lightly by the Storm Prediction Center. Tornado watches are in the two areas below highlighted in red until at least 8 p.m. CT.

Severe storms have already started to fire across south-central Iowa, southeastern Missouri, central Arkansas, and western Illinois. Some severe storms have also developed some tornadic activity, especially a couple in Arkansas and Iowa.

The activity will only continue to ramp up within the next few hours across the Midwest southward to Mississippi

Here are the newest maps from the Storm Prediction Center with a high risk for severe weather across parts of the South (read noon update) and also a high threat for southeast Iowa, west-central Illinois, and northern Missouri.

Residents in Davenport, Iowa, Iowa City, Bartlett, Tenn., and Moline, Illinois should go be in a safe place this afternoon and evening and make sure to go to the most interior portion of your home, lowest levels, away from doors and windows as soon as a warning is issued.

The Storm Prediction Center has increased its probability for long-lived, powerful tornadoes, across northwestern Mississippi, eastern Arkansas, and southwestern Tennessee. Memphis is on a high threat for severe storms, level 5 out of 5, in the severity scale. This means that there is high confidence that storms will produce a tornado outbreak, and that numerous storms are expected.

Please, pay attention to this forecast. life-threatening storms will like to develop across the mentioned area. From Memphis on I-40 west to Brinkley Ark., southward to Monticello, Ark., to Clarksdale, Miss., over to cities around I-55 from Memphis to Batesville, please stay weather aware and head to your safe location as soon as a warning is issued. If you live in a mobile home, please make sure you are in a safe place by this afternoon.

If you are anywhere in the highlighted area, especially the one in red, you should have a plan for this afternoon and evening. If you live in a mobile home, make sure to be in a safer location. Today is not the day to be in your mobile homes. Go to a friend's or family's house, preferably if it has an underground shelter.

If your friend or family's home is not an option, make sure to call your city and ask where the near tornado shelter is and spend the afternoon and evening there.

If you have a newer, more sturdy home, make sure to bring snacks and a NOAA Weather radio (if you have one) to an underground shelter. If you don't have an underground shelter, make sure to be in the lowest level of your home, the most central room, without windows and well away from doors. This is usually a closet or bathroom.

We have been monitoring and telling you all week, severe storms are on the board for Friday evening. It is an extensive area that accounts for over 45 million people at risk of experiencing severe storms, which will likely include a big portion of them at risk for violent tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.

There is moderate risk, a level 4 out of 5 on the severity scale, that extends from the Ozarks northward over eastern Illinois and southeastern Iowa. Memphis, St. Louis, Little Rock, Ark., Cedar Rapids, Ia., and De Moines, Ia. are all included in the highest threat.