Tornado, hail chances - Severe weather for the Midwest, Ohio Valley

An enhanced risk has been issued for afternoon and overnight severe weather on Thursday across the Midwest and into the upper Ohio Valley.

Tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds are all on the menu as severe weather moves from north to south starting this afternoon. The WeatherRadar shows a disturbance drifting southward and dropping rain, snow and even a frozen mix across the northern tier.

As the disturbance moves south and collides with a warm air mass, the conditions are expected to destabilize, giving the storms the energy needed to erupt. The best chance for tornadoes includes places in and around Springfield, Ill., through Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Having severe weather after dark adds an additional risk of not seeing a tornado until lightning lights up the sky. Be sure to have your notification volume turned up and tune in to local forecasts for late-night warnings.