The seemingly relentless wave of severe weather striking Oklahoma and other Southern Plains states was threatening again Wednesday.

A risk of severe thunderstorms was forecast from eastern New Mexico and Colorado, across Oklahoma and parts of Texas and Kansas, to Arkansas and southern Missouri, according to weather.com.

Flood warnings were also in effect in the Mississippi Valley from northern Illinois to Louisiana.

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Slideshow: Tornadoes hit central Oklahoma

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Click to view scenes from Friday's violent storm.

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While the tornado risk appeared to be lower than it was when powerful twisters plagued the area, particularly Oklahoma, weather.com forecasters said pockets of large hail and damaging wind gusts were a concern in the Plains.

Early Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for several counties in north-central Oklahoma and south-central Kansas, with severe thunderstorm watches in effect in surrounding areas.

Oklahoma was under flash-flood watches across much of its south-central region, with 2 to 4 inches of additional localized rain expected to fall Wednesday and Thursday on the already drenched soil, the weather service said.

Oklahoma City and its suburbs of Moore and El Reno — both devastated by recent tornadoes — were among the areas under flash-flood watches.

Oklahoma City and El Reno were under severe thunderstorm watches. The weather service said some tornadoes were possible.

The forecasts came as Oklahoma City and its suburbs continued to dig out from devastating storms, including Friday's El Reno tornado, which is believed to be the largest on record in the United States, stretching 2.6 miles across.

The EF-5 tornado, with winds well over 200 mph, and its resulting flooding killed 19 people, including six children, the Oklahoma Department of Health said.

That came less than two weeks after a tornado killed 24 people in Moore. The storms prompted Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to declare a state of emergency in 41 counties.

Related: 

• El Reno tornado widest on record
• Levee breaks bring Mo. evacuations
• More weather coverage from NBC News

Storm-battered Oklahomans again faced the risk of severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes on Tuesday as another storm system moved through the Plains and the Mississippi Valley, forecasters said.

Slideshow: Tornadoes hit central Oklahoma

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Click to view scenes from Friday's violent storm.

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Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said that isolated tornadoes were possible, along with damaging wind gusts and hail.

Severe thunderstorms were possible in the east and south Plains and the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday and the south Plains and north Texas on Wednesday, Roth said.

“Hard-hit Oklahoma has the severe threat both Tuesday and Wednesday,” he added.

He said there was a tornado risk for Oklahoma City late afternoon and evening on Tuesday.

“Strong thunderstorms” were also expected to hit Kansas City on Tuesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service published a map showing a large swath of the central and eastern U.S. at risk of thunderstorms and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri had a slight risk of severe storms.

“Primary threats will be large to very large hail and damaging wind gusts. Isolated tornadoes will also be possible,” the weather service said.

Residents of West Alton, Mo. were ordered to evacuate the town after a levee breach near Highway 67 that sent water gushing over the roadway, Fire Chief Richard Pender told NBC News affiliate KSDK.

A flash-flood warning was in effect for parts of McClain, Grady, and Cleveland counties in Oklahoma until 7:15 am local time, the National Weather Service reported, as heavy rainfall was expected to move through the area.

The nation's midsection has been battered by relentless storms in recent weeks. On Friday, severe weather began to sweep across through the region, leaving 21 dead from twisters, hailstorms and flash floods - most of them in Oklahoma and Missouri.

And on May 20, an EF5 tornado packing 210mph winds struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 23 including 7 children who died at an elementary school.

Related:

• As severe storm system finally passes East Coast, 21 dead left in wake
• Storm chaser caught in twister: It felt like I was going to heaven
• Oklahoma tornado deaths include three veteran storm chasers

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 4, 2013 5:34 AM EDT

The death toll has jumped to 12 in the aftermath of a swarm of destructive twisters that tore through the Midwest, killing seven adults and two children in Oklahoma and causing three deaths in Missouri blamed on flooding.

Floodwaters also proved deadly in Oklahoma, where a 4-year-old girl died after she was swept away while taking shelter with her family in a ditch, according to police.

It is unclear whether the girl is one of the nine people who died as five tornadoes — one a half-mile wide — struck the Oklahoma City area Friday evening, terrorizing communities already battered by deadly storms this spring.

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told NBC News seven adults and two children are confirmed dead, including a mother and her small child. 

The medical examiner said that five of the nine dead had been positively identified and called on the public's help to identify the others. "If someone is missing a loved one from last night’s tornado, we would encourage them to contact our office at 405-239-7141," said Amy Elliott, of the medical examiner's office.

Hospitals in Oklahoma City reported 104 injuries, including five critical patients.

At least five people killed were in vehicles and may have been trying to flee as dark clouds gathered and warning sirens wailed, authorities said. 

Marcus Jolly, 32, of El Reno told The Oklahoman newspaper the scene along Interstate 40 "was a war zone. There were semis turned over and skeletons of buildings remaining.”

The twisters came just 11 days after a monster tornado left 24 dead in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, where power outages were reported Friday.

Mark Wiley, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s southern region headquarters in Fort Worth, said early Saturday that there had been five confirmed tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area on Friday and one in the Tulsa area early Saturday.

A total of 12 tornadoes hit Missouri and Illinois around St. Louis, where “numerous homes” were damaged. Wiley did not have any information about casualties there. Two twisters touched down briefly in North Dakota, but did not do any damage.

The Oklahoma City area “definitely” experienced the worst of the bad weather, Wiley said, with wind gusts of up to 90 mph, baseball-sized hail and extensive flooding.

“We have several reports of water going into homes and dozens of people having to be rescued on the streets, especially along Interstate 40,” Wiley said. “It was not a good night to be in the Oklahoma City area.”

For Saturday, Wiley said the storm was moving toward Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and East Texas, but did not “look as severe as yesterday.”

The worry now turns to flash flooding. Wiley said about 6 to 8 inches of rain had fallen in 12 hours between 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. CT Saturday. The Weather Channel reported that May 2013 is the wettest May on record in Oklahoma City.

Friday, the terror came from tornadoes boasting baseball-sized hail and winds so strong they tossed tractor-trailers off the interstate. Meteorologists said the storm's fury didn't match that of the tornado that struck Moore on May 20 but dumped around 8 inches of rain on the area.

An SUV used by Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Bettes and a crew of storm trackers was thrown 200 yards by one tornado near Oklahoma City suburb El Reno. The vehicle tumbled about eight times and came to rest in a field, Bettes said. Some members of the crew suffered minor injuries, and the vehicle was destroyed.

"That was the scariest moment of my life," Bettes said. "I saw my life flash before my eyes."

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said the woman and baby were killed when the SUV they were in overturned on Interstate 40 between El Reno and Yukon.

Many of the injured were hurt in accidents along Interstates 35 and 40 west of the city, where at least three semi-trailer rigs were overturned after the biggest tornado touched down near El Reno, authorities said.

Bart Kuester, 50, a truck driver from Wisconsin, said he was driving along Interstate 35 past Moore when he realized a dangerous storm was approaching. 

"I heard the sirens going off and I could see it coming," he told The Associated Press. Kuester said the interstate was flooded and jammed with people trying to outrun the storm. 

"Everyone was leaving. ... Just because that one that hit Moore was so fresh in their memory," he said.

Authorities said some of the worst damage on Friday was from flooding around El Reno and Yukon and the danger continued into Saturday.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for parts of Oklahoma early Saturday.

There were also flash flood warnings in place for parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas and  Kansas.

On Friday, one tornado turned south from Oklahoma City and then toward the suburb of Moore, which was hit by a devastating twister on May 20 that killed 24 people and injured hundreds of others.

“I think we are still a little shaken by what happened in Moore. We are still burying children and victims, so our emotions are still strong," Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett told Reuters.

Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency.

"This has been a very large storm that hit a lot of communities," she told KFOR. She said she had heard from at least 30 fellow governors offering assistance.

At Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, where winds hit 71 mph, all flights were canceled and about 1,000 travelers were herded underground, where they were told to put their hands on their heads. The airport reopened Saturday morning, but all morning departures were canceled.

Tornado warnings — meaning a funnel cloud that could become a tornado had been spotted in the area — were in effect much of the day for numerous counties in Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Forecasters sounded the alarm that much of the Midwest — already pummeled by a week of tornadoes and flooded with drenching rains — was facing another round of violent weather overnight and into the weekend.

Observers at Tinker Air Force Base reported a tornado on the ground near the base southwest of Oklahoma City. In Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma, a tornado touched down near Norman North High School and Norman Regional Hospital.

Buildings at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport were damaged by tornadoes with debris strewn across the runway. The airport was closed because of the damage, but re-opened just before midnight, the airport said in a statement.

Another tornado touched down Friday night 7 miles northeast of Moscow Mills, Mo., about 50 miles northwest of St. Louis. In St. Charles County, 24 houses were severely damaged or destroyed, said Mike O'Connell, communications director for the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

The National Weather Service evacuated its St. Louis office as tornado warnings were issued for north and northeastern St. Louis and surrounding counties.

Janet Shamlian and Aaron Marmelstein of NBC News, Mike Bettes of The Weather Channel, and Reuters contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Related:

• More Oklahoma twisters!? Latest outbreak fits Tornado Alley's pattern
• Midwest tornadoes like a giant game of Battleship

Severe weather is set to batter many parts of the United States on Wednesday, forecasters warned, including parts of the Plains torn by twisters last week.

Violent storms brought heavy rain to the Chicago area Tuesday, and large tornadoes touched Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One person fell victim to the bizarre weather after a fatal lightning strike in Florida.

New York City and western Long Island could be hit by heavy rain and high winds on Wednesday, the Weather Channel reported.

In the Plains, a severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak is expected stretching across a wide swath from South Dakota to central Texas. The threat of twisters was highest from south-central and southeast Nebraska to western Oklahoma.

“The ingredients are coming together for a severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak in the Plains Wednesday,” said Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth.

Many parts of the Chicago metropolitan area were lashed by torrential rain, frequent lightning and high winds late Tuesday, NBCChicago.com reported.

On the west coast of Florida, a woman was killed by lightning strike while visiting Belleair Beach, police said. Phyllis Kalinowski, 50, from Brandon, Fla., was sightseeing with her friend Dawn Ryskoskis, 45, at 6 p.m. when she was caught in the storm and died of injuries consistent with a lightning strike, according to a statement from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

In Chicago, a White Sox vs. Cubs game was canceled because of the rain and tornado warnings were issued for Grundy County and Will County in Illinois. There were also fears of flash flooding.

At least one home was destroyed and other buildings were damaged by a tornado in Nemaha County, north Kansas, late Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, while in Ottawa County a large tornado was reported around 5:30 p.m. local time in the area of Culver and Bennington, about 15 miles north of Salina, according to the Weather Channel.

The dark funnel of one of Kansas’ Tuesday evening tornadoes was captured in a video by the Salina Journal newspaper.

A tornado warning was issued for Erie County, Ohio, shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday after a funnel cloud was sighted, weather.com said. The Erie County emergency management agency said one and possibly two tornadoes were reported, and one went through the Union City area.

In northwestern Pennsylvania, a tornado touched down and damaged some buildings and at least one mobile home, but no injuries were immediately reported, weather.com said.

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Damaging winds and hail were among the severe weather threats to Upstate New York and New England on Wednesday, Roth said, while some storms were also possible in the upper Mississippi Valley ahead of the outbreak.

The storms could be seen in clusters “from Detroit early in the day then over to Western New York, Pennsylvania, Albany NY, maybe New York City and parts of western Long Island along the warm front by the end of the day,” Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Thibodeau reported.

Wednesday’s storms in the Plains were expected to move slowly, Thibodeau said, hitting the Southern Plains and northern half of the Mississippi Valley on Thursday.

Roth said Thursday’s severe weather threat extends from Minnesota and Wisconsin southwest to central and eastern Oklahoma and west Arkansas with the tornado threat highest in eastern Kansas and central and eastern Oklahoma. 

There was also a risk of flooding in areas close to the Mississippi River following Tuesday's heavy rains, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Bill Karins. 

Related:

• Storms loom over much of US
• Third flooding victim found in Texas
• More weather coverage on nbcnews.com

This story was originally published on Wed May 29, 2013 5:20 AM EDT

A wide swath of the heartland – stretching from Texas to the Great Plains and up into the lower Great Lakes – was being threatened by monstrous thunderstorms Tuesday evening, kicking off what is expected to be a week of severe weather.

Tornado warnings were sent out in at least four states, with one massive twister already on the ground in Kansas – nearly one week after neighboring Oklahoma was devastated by a deadly twister.

Buildings in the town of Corning, Kan., were badly damaged Tuesday, but there were reportedly no injuries, according to Weather.com.

Flash flood warnings were issued for towns in northeast Kansas battered by as much as nine inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri were also bracing for dangerous conditions, including giant hail, fierce winds, and potential isolated tornados, the National Weather Service said.

Dirk Lammers / AP

Visitors watch as fast water crashes through the quartzite rocks at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Monday. Flash-flooding remains a threat Tuesday in some parts of the country.

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“The tornado threat seems highest from west-central Illinois west to Kansas, then southwest into west Oklahoma and northwest Texas,” Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth warned.

Roth added that Oklahoma City - whose suburbs were devastated by tornadoes just over a week ago - was in the line of fire and could see more tornadoes Wednesday.

Meanwhile, thunderstorms producing 60 mph wind gusts and half-dollar-size hail bore down on parts of Colorado and Kansas on Tuesday morning, with the National Weather Service warning residents to take cover.

Parts of Interstate 70 in western Colorado were included in the warning area.

Those warnings came just an hour after nearly identical forecasts for parts of Missouri, with the weather service office in St. Louis saying damage to vehicles, crops, trees and housing exteriors was expected.

A flash-flood watch was in effect for northeast and central Missouri and parts of central Illinois, and a flood warning was issued for the La Moine River at Ripley, Mo.

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Tom Pennington / Getty Images

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead.

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The storm threat was predicted to continue through the week, with severe storms likely Wednesday and Thursday across the Plains and upper Midwest, Roth said.

The potential for dangerous tornadoes is considered highest on Wednesday from southeastern Nebraska to north-central Texas.

Then on Thursday, tornado outbreaks are likely from the upper Mississippi Valley and eastern Dakotas south to central Oklahoma, Roth said.

Related:

• Third victim found in Texas flooding
• More weather coverage from NBCNews.com

This story was originally published on Tue May 28, 2013 6:47 AM EDT

A tornado warning was issued for parts of Massachusetts on Wednesday evening as a severe weather storm capable of producing a twister was spotted on radar, forecasters said.

The "dangerous storm" was located near Salem, or 11 miles northeast of Amherst, the National Weather Service warned.

Residents were told to take cover. No confirmed tornado was spotted, however, and about 45 minutes later the Weather Service changed their warning in the area to one alerting of possible severe thunderstorms with the potential for damaging winds of more than 60 mph.

The warnings were issued as the same storm front that spawned downpours and deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma marched east, forecasters said.

An area stretching from the Appalachians into the lower Great Lakes and New England was at "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms Wednesday night into Thursday.

Stronger and sometimes severe storms carrying gusty winds and hail were seen in southwestern Pennsylvania along the crest of the Appalachian range and into the Lower Great Lakes, according to the Weather Service.

The areas at risk for thunderstorms included Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, Boston and Cleveland but also stretched into Western New York and Connecticut. 

An earlier threat of possible isolated tornadoes farther west, in Western Ohio into the Tennessee Valley, "appears to have diminished" because of cooling from cloud cover, forecasters said.

However at least one funnel cloud was reported in central Florida in the town of Viera, according to NBC station WESH TV. 

The Northern Rockies area — from Northeast Wyoming through Western Montana — could also see storms with severe hail and wind, the Weather Service said.

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Weather.com's forecast showed a map outlining the main area of risk, which stretched from Buffalo to Charleston. It also said the main danger would be from high winds and hail, but cautioned there was a “slight risk” of tornadoes.

"Other showers and thunderstorms are possible from the remainder of the Northeast and Great Lakes into the South," it said.

"A few isolated severe thunderstorms producing damaging wind gusts and hail are possible in the lower Mississippi Valley. Showers and thunderstorms continue from the Northeast to the Southeast Thursday, although the severe threat is even lower," weather.com added.

Parts of northeast Kentucky, Ohio, southeast Michigan, western Pennsylvania and western New York were given a 3 out of 10 on Weather.com's tornado probability scale, with 10 representing the highest probability of twisters. The cities of Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo were all included in this risk area.

Meanwhile, a tornado rating of 2 was given to Tennessee, most of Kentucky, much of eastern Indiana, parts of southern and eastern Michigan, eastern West Virginia, much of Pennsylvania and much of upstate New York.

Connecticut was hit by strong storms that caused some damage in northern parts of the state on Tuesday, NBCConnecticut.com reported.

A storm moved through Copake, New York, just before 5 p.m. and headed southeast through Massachusetts and along the extreme northwest corner of Connecticut, the station said. Downed trees and power lines were found in Falls Village and lightning strikes came close to homes in Cornwall.

A tree fell on cars in the high school parking lot in Falls Village. "It's just a car. We're just here to make sure all the kids were safe," said Patricia Chamberlain, superintendent, whose car was among those hit.

Thunder, lightning, high winds and hail were reported in several Conn. towns, including Salisbury, Canaan, South Windsor and Manchester.

Related:

• Full coverage of Oklahoma tornadoes
• 9-year-old, 65-year-old among first tornado victims identified
• Before and after: Tornado cuts devastating path through Oklahoma

Ed Andrieski / AP

Two women share an umbrella to ward off snow as they walk the 16th Street Mall during the noon hour in Denver on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.

Severe thunderstorms, large hail and possible tornadoes menaced a swath of the country from northern Texas to St. Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday, while heavy rains in northern Illinois caused delays at Chicago-area airports and snow made for messy travel in Colorado.

The National Weather Service issued advisories of all types as harsh weather pelted the middle of the country throughout the day. 

Much of Oklahoma was under a tornado watch until late Wednesday as intense storms ravaged the Texas-Oklahoma border. That tornado watch extends north through St. Louis and central Illinois.

"There could be really strong storms later tonight, and that's always scary. That could be the case in central Oklahoma," said Carl Parker, a storm specialist for The Weather Channel.

A flash flood warning was in effect in northern Illinois, causing airport delays and cancellations. O'Hare International Airport reported delays averaging almost one hour, with more than 300 flight cancellations due to weather, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

At Chicago Midway International Airport, airlines were reporting some delays of 30 minutes or more, with a few flight cancellations.

Meanwhile out west, Colorado was still dealing with the lingering effects of heavy snowfall, which had created messy driving conditions. Multiple accidents Wednesday afternoon led the state's Department of Transportation to shutdown westbound traffic for a portion of Interstate 70.

Inbound flights to Denver International Airport were delayed an average of 2 hours 16 minutes Wednesday evening, according to tracking site FlightAware.com. Outbound flights were experiencing delays of about 45 minutes.

Areas around Denver were expected to receive 3 to 6 inches of new snow by the end of Wednesday.

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

Golf ball-sized hail litter the ground by Andrew Stamps and his wife Valorie as they prepare to cover their shattered rear window of her 2009 Toyota Avalon in Pearl, Miss., Monday, March 18, 2013, following a hailstorm that hit communities throughout central Mississippi.

Southern states mopped up on Tuesday after a massive storm packing high winds, rain, and fist-sized hail moved across the region, causing substantial damage to homes and vehicles in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

The storm caused two deaths in Georgia, said Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Crystal Paulk-Buchanan on Tuesday, and eight people were injured. One person died in Polk County when a tree fell on a car; the second was killed in Talbot County after a vehicle swerved to avoid a downed tree. Numerous homes were damaged by the hail and some local roads remained shut down.

Two tornadoes were confirmed in Tennessee near the towns of McEwen and Murfreesboro, the Weather Channel reported.

Gusts in northern Mississippi were clocked as high as 77 miles per hour, and 17 counties reported substantial damage from the storm, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

“What I found interesting is that hail is the threat that we don’t talk about that much,” MEMA spokesman Jeff Rent told the Associated Press. “But you can see how destructive it can be in a short amount of time. We got a tough lesson today.”

The winds made a plaything of one man’s tractor-trailer as it crossed a bridge in northeast Mississippi, picking the big rig up and laying the container portion of the truck on the road below. The truck’s cab remained on the bridge above.

“The wind just gently picked me up and made me go across the of the bridge banister,” truck driver Joe Sisk told local NBC affiliate WLBT. “And it just laid over on its side, just as pretty as you’d please, as gentle as possible.”

An elementary school in Clinton, Miss., was closed on Tuesday after roofs over nearly all its classrooms were ventilated by hail.

“It was baseball-sized hail, and it didn’t start out little,” Clinton resident Jean Weiss told local paper the Clarion-Ledger. “It started out big. People’s back windows were being broken out at our office, and all of our cars have dents in them.”

Eighteen counties reported “moderate to major damage” to residences and businesses in Alabama, according to the state’s emergency management agency.

The storm pulled down trees and power lines in Alabama and Georgia, cutting off electricity for thousands of people into Tuesday.

Georgia Power reported 21,700 customers without power on Tuesday, and Georgia EMC said an additional 11,691 were in the dark. Alabama Power said 103,000 of its customers were without electricity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

• Spring? Parts of Northeast set for up to a foot of snow
  

A late-season storm that threatened to dump up to a foot of heavy snow right before the start of spring slammed the Northeast on Tuesday.

The storm brought a burst of heavy snow in southern New England that was replaced by a mix of sleet and freezing rain in Connecticut and Rhode Island through the morning, the National Weather Service said.

About seven inches had accumulated in parts of Boston by 9 a.m. local time, NBC affiliate WHDH reported. School was canceled in Boston and Worcester, Mass., and residents could expect a mix of rain and snow through Tuesday night, tapering off into flurries on Wednesday morning, according to the weather service.

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With the official arrival of spring only a day away, New Englanders said they had seen enough snow for one winter.

“I hate it,” Jennifer Hutchins of Concord, N.H., told The Associated Press. “I guess I like to watch it fall, but I don’t like it when it sticks around.”

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

Golf-ball sized hail litters the ground as Andrew Stamps and his wife Valorie prepare to cover their car's rear window after the glass was shattered in a hailstorm on Monday in Pearl, Miss.

"I'm tired of it," Paula Lochhead told the AP. "But we live in New Hampshire, what are you gonna do?"

A FedEx truck slid off ice-slicked roads in Wallingford, Conn., and narrowly missed slamming into a house as it went down an embankment. The driver of the truck was not seriously harmed, NBC Connecticut reported.

Snow also hit New York and New Jersey on Monday night, with reports of a number of accidents as drivers tried to negotiate slushy streets, according to NBC New York.

Some three inches of snow fell on parts of New York City and Long Island before it stopped around midnight, the station said. Suburbs north and west of the city could see 3 to 5 inches before rain sets in. Up to 8 inches were expected at higher elevations in the Poconos, Catskills and Hudson Valley.

Hail smashes cars, breaks windows in South

New York state police said they had responded to 80 reports of accidents or disabled vehicles in a four-county region east of the Hudson River, NBC New York reported.

Forty-eight flights were cancelled at Boston’s Logan Airport and 29 grounded at LaGuardia in New York as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

Severe storms, large hail pummel parts of South

This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:48 AM EDT

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

Golfball sized hail litter the ground by Andrew Stamps and his wife Valorie as they prepare to cover their shattered rear window of her 2009 Toyota Avalon in Pearl, Miss., March 18, following a hailstorm that hit communities throughout central Mississippi.

JACKSON, Miss. — Severe thunderstorms Monday raked across a wide area of the South, packing strong winds, rain and some baseball-size hail.

In Mississippi, authorities reported two people were hit on the head by large hail as the enormous storm front crossed the region. Fire official Tim Shanks said baseball-sized hail smashed windows in several vehicles in Clinton, where the two people were hit. He had no immediate word on their condition.

National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Weber said there were reports of hail the size of softballs in some areas around Jackson.

"This is the time of year that we get hail storms, but hail this size is pretty rare," Weber said.

Emergency officials said there were reports of downed trees or other damage in 14 Mississippi counties.

Roads throughout the Jackson area were littered with broken limbs and pine needles, from the hail driving through trees. Cars could be seen driving along the interstate with broken windows and cracked windshields.

"What I found interesting is that hail is the threat that we don't talk about that much," said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeff Rent. "But you can see how destructive it can be in a short amount of time. We got a tough lesson today."

Glenn Ezell and his son were putting tarps on the metal roof of their mobile home in Brandon after the storm swept through the area.

"It started hailing big enough that it come through the roof and broke the sheetrock. It was as big as your fist," he said.

Meteorologists issued tornado warnings for parts of northwest Georgia and severe thunderstorm warnings around the state.

Flights were delayed by more than an hour Monday afternoon at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after officials there ordered a ground stop, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Downed trees and high winds were also reported in parts of Alabama and Georgia.

Georgia Power officials said 73,000 customers were without power Monday night, and of that number, 31,000 were in northwest Georgia.

Elsewhere, Alabama Power officials said 198,000 customers were without power as of 5 p.m.

In Tennessee, heavy rain helped firefighters contain a wildfire that burned nearly 60 rental cabins in a resort area outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The fire forced up to 200 people who had been staying in cabins in the area to evacuate.

Fire officials had worried earlier that wind-whipped flames might jump a ridgeline and threaten Pigeon Forge, a popular tourism destination that's home to country star Dolly Parton's amusement park, Dollywood.

Meanwhile snow was moving across much of the Northeast late Monday messing up traffic as it caught many commuters off guard. And Boston announced all public schools would be closed on Tuesday because of the wintry weather — just the day before the official start of spring.

Associated Press writer Phillip Lucas contributed to this report from Atlanta.