Wedneday’s severe forecast: One dead in Kansas as severe weather rips through

Tuesday night severe storms ripped through Westmoreland, Kan., killing one person. The severe weather continues Wednesday with nearly 1 million people under an enhanced risk.

Tuesday was another day where severe storms made history. In the town of Westmoreland in Kansas, about 45 miles west of Topeka, with a population of about 700, a tornado destroyed 22 homes, RVs and damaged businesses and buildings. The severe storms left the city without power as rescuers continued to search for any other people who could have been trapped in the rubble.

Severe storms target the southern Plains on Wednesday. The highest risk, level 3 of 5, enhanced covers parts of Oklahoma and western Texas, including Abilene, Texas, and San Angelo, Texas, through Altus Okla. The slight risk, where there could also be large hail, damaging wind, and a couple of tornadoes covers a much larger area, over 22 million people are at a slight risk.

Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio through Oklahoma City are all highlighted in yellow in the map. This is all part of the next low-pressure system exiting the Rockies and a low-pressure system in the upper levels of the atmosphere that will allow for numerous severe storms to develop mainly between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Watch our live storm chase from Wednesday, May 1, 2024:

Thursday morning will be a wet and stormy one across eastern Texas, with some strong thunderstorms affecting I-45 from Oklahoma City southward to Houston. Louisiana will also experience storms most of Thursday.

Make sure your weather alerts are on if you are in areas highlighted in yellow or orange in the maps above. Stay informed with the latest weather information for your area and track the storms’ movement using our WeatherRadar.