Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather: Expected tornado outbreak prompts rare 'high risk' of severe weather

Weather in America: April 2, 2025

FOX Weather has you covered with the breaking forecasts and weather news headlines for your Weather in America on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Get the latest from FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin.

Welcome to the Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather. It’s April 2, 2025, and it’s also National Walking Day. Start your day with everything you need to know about today's weather. You can also get a quick briefing of national, regional and local weather whenever you like with the FOX Weather Update podcast.

Expected tornado outbreak prompts rare 'high risk' of severe weather

A tornado outbreak is expected Wednesday and Wednesday night from parts of the mid-Mississippi and lower Ohio valleys westward into the eastern Ozarks, including the threat of multiple long-track EF-3 or stronger tornadoes.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) upgraded portions of Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi to a rare Level 5 out of 5 "high risk" of severe weather.

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This marks only the second time this year, and the first instance of two such high-risk alerts in a single year since 2021, that a Level 5 threat has been issued. The previous Level 5 alert was issued on March 15 when the National Weather Service confirmed 13 tornadoes, including six powerful EF-3s, which tragically resulted in seven deaths and 12 injuries.

Now, the SPC is warning of a significant tornado outbreak expected throughout the day Wednesday and into the overnight hours. Concerns loom over the potential for numerous tornadoes, some of which could be intense and track on the ground for extended periods, causing widespread damage. 

In addition to the tornado threat, hail larger than 2 inches is possible with wind gusts in excess of 70 mph. These threats extend beyond the immediate high-risk zone, stretching from North Texas to the southern Great Lakes.

Life-threatening flooding also likely in heartland

Just about the same areas where the worst storms are expected also face the risk of flash flooding. On Wednesday, the highest flooding threat covers an area that stretches from Indiana to Arkansas. On Thursday, a "high risk" of flooding is concentrated in a zone that covers western Kentucky, the Bootheel of Missouri, West Tennessee and northeastern Arkansas.

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Winter storm slams Upper Midwest

On the cold side of the storm system that is creating the severe weather and flooding, a winter storm could bring upwards of 2 feet of snow to parts of the Upper Midwest. The heaviest snow is expected along the banks of Lake Superior in the Arrowhead of Minnesota.

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Newlyweds find wedding photos 100 miles away after tornado destroys their home

A Missouri couple is figuring out the next steps after their home was recently destroyed by a tornado. However, the discovery of some of their wedding photos about 100 miles away is giving them a glimmer of hope.

A Missouri couple's home was destroyed by a powerful tornado, but amidst the devastation, pages from their wedding album were discovered over 100 miles away.

(Darby Russom)

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