Tornado, Hail, Storms Strike Central States

Officials warned us about tornadoes, and they were right: One was spotted today close to Cisco, Texas, roughly 100 miles west of Dallas-Fort Worth, CNN reports. It was heading east at 15mph along Interstate 20. The National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings into late evening across parts of six states (Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Arkansas) and predicted major thunderstorms across much of the same land, NBC News reports. Oklahoma also had the pleasure of feeling intense hail this afternoon. "All the ingredients are coming together for a major severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak Saturday for the central and southern Plains," says a weather forecaster.

What's more, a surprise tropical storm is expected to approach the coasts of South and North Carolina tomorrow. And snow may blanket the Nebraska Panhandle (5 inches) and some of South Dakota (12 to 24 inches) this weekend, the AP reports. But it's not all bad: Rain that's been hitting north Texas for weeks, and a flash flood that may come this weekend, could end a drought that's plagued area lakes for four years, the Dallas Morning News reports. "We’ve really had a change in our luck," a meteorologist says. "It takes a flood to end a drought—that’s what appears to be what’s happening right now." (More tornado stories.)