Courtesy TVNweather.com

A Weather Channel truck caught up in the EF-5 tornado that swept through the Oklahoma City area on Friday lies crumpled in a field.

Caught in the widest U.S. tornado on record along with a Weather Channel convoy, an NBC News engineer who saw his colleague’s vehicle flipped "like a pancake” shared harrowing details of their near-miss in an email to friends and family.

The monster storm that swept through the Oklahoma City area on Friday killed nineteen people, including six children, according to the state medical examiner. While another group of storm chasers suffered three fatalities during the storm, all six members of the Weather Channel team walked away from their crumpled vehicles.

Slideshow: Tornadoes hit central Oklahoma

Bill Waugh / Reuters file

Click to view scenes from the May 31 storms.

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Engineer Kevin Parrish, who works for an NBC News field division that provides technical support for the Weather Channel, was in a three-vehicle convoy that included what they called the Bettes Mobile, named for meteorologist Mike Bettes, and the Bloom Mobile, in honor of NBC News correspondent David Bloom, who died on assignment in Iraq in 2003.

With Parrish were Bettes, producer Austin Anderson, cameraman Brad Reynolds, and fellow engineers “JK” Kautz ad Cleve Massey.

May 31 “began as usual” for the Tornado Hunt crew, Parrish wrote. When a tornado initially touched down outside El Reno, Okla., Bettes and the crew took a live shot of the twister before moving to what they thought was a safe distance from the storm that the National Weather Service would later report to be 2.6 miles across.

Parrish recounted in his email message what happened as the crew suddenly found themselves caught up by the storm’s powerful winds:

“It was during the travel from our initial live broadcast location that we took a direct or near-direct hit from the powerful EF-5 tornado while traveling on Highway-81 near the intersection of US Highway-40.

“I was driving solo as the lead vehicle on Highway-81 followed by the Bettes and Bloom Mobiles. We could see a multi-vortex tornado off to the right-hand (passenger) side of the vehicles. We were in constant two-way radio communications with each other when the radio transmission from Mike Bettes came, ‘Go as fast as you can, go as fast as you possibly can.’

“As our three vehicles continued together moving along Highway-81, my vehicle was lifted slightly airborne and then I came back down with all four wheels on the highway. The winds were tremendous and our ‘horizontal’ world quickly became one that was surrounded by flying debris and rain. My truck was still moving forward and then I got caught in a wind gust that forced me into a ditch on the right hand side of the highway about 100 feet down from the main highway.

“After I came to a complete stop in the ditch with my rear windows all blown in, the Bettes Mobile passed by me on my left hand side. I had clear vision enough to see the Bettes Mobile go airborne still in a forward motion and then make a very sharp bank to the left, cross two lanes of the highway, the center median divider, two more lanes of the highway and then completely disappear from my view. I would estimates that the Bettes Mobile was lifted airborne some 20 to 30 feet. The scene was [as] if someone had placed a spatula underneath the Bettes Mobile and was flipping it over like a pancake.

“The NBC Bloom Mobile with engineer ‘JK’ Kautz and Cleve Massey then came to a complete stop on Highway-81 just opposite of where I ended up down in the ditch. The status of everyone riding inside the Bettes Mobile was unknown at this point, our two-way radios remained silent with the only sound in our world being the loud freight-train roar of the tornado. Everyone sheltered in place the best they could inside each vehicle as we waited for the tornado to pass. Then JK’s voice came across the two-way radio, ‘Roll call.’ I responded to the call, ‘KP is OK.’ There was no word from the Bettes Mobile and we had no idea if they made it or not.

“Once the winds had subsided, I was able to back up and drive my truck out of the ditch and back up onto Highway-81. As I ran across the highway, Brad Reynolds came out of nowhere and grabbed me in a bear hug. It was only then that I knew that he wasn’t dead. I could see the Bettes Mobile all crushed and mangled in a field out in the distance. Everyone inside the truck had self-extricated and was walking around.”

Anderson sustained several broken bones as the vehicle he was driving was tossed by the storm. He and Reynolds got into Parrish’s truck, and the three drove off to find a doctor. Parrish kept the two injured men alert by asking them to repeat their names and where they lived.

“I drove towards the local hospital but all roads were completely jammed with traffic. It was a terrible sight and there were no good travel options,” Parrish wrote. “We discussed our situation, conditions, and the available options. I then headed towards the next closest hospital ‘away’ from El Reno, which was nearly 40 miles away in Chickasaw, Okla.”

Anderson is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, the Weather Channel reported.

Three other veteran storm chasers – Tim Samaras, 55; Paul Samaras, 24; and Carl Young, 45 – were killed after the multiple-vortex tornado took them by surprise on Friday.

The Weather Channel team could have suffered the same fate, Parrish said in his message.

“I fully recall sitting there in the ditch, inside my truck, with the roar of the tornado in full force thinking about my wonderful wife Kathleen and my children James and Grace along with my family and friends, and that I wasn’t going home inside a plastic bag. So long as I was able to protect my head and remain conscious, I felt that I would be able to handle any situation.

“Somehow, I made it.”

Related:

• Oklahoma tornado deaths include three veteran storm chasers
• El Reno tornado, at 2.6 miles across, was widest on record
• More Oklahoma twisters!? Latest outbreak fits Tornado Alley's pattern

More severe weather was forecast for the nation’s storm-battered midsection Thursday, including the threat of tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area hit by last week’s deadly twisters.

Heavy rain and flooding is likely from the eastern Plains to the lower Great Lakes, Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said.

Hail and damaging winds resulted in more than 250 storm reports by the end of Wednesday, according to weather.com, as a “multi-day severe weather outbreak” continued to bring misery to the Plains.

A preliminary 19 tornadoes were reported in four different states -- Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa -- on Wednesday, weather.com said.

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At least 21 tornadoes touched down Tuesday, injuring at least seven people in three states.

The storm system responsible is forecast to move slowly eastward through the weekend, Roth said.

Areas likely to be worst hit include Minneapolis, which is set for strong evening thunderstorms, and Kansas City, Roth said.

In Oklahoma City, where 24 people were killed by twisters last week, severe storms are likely again Thursday evening, bringing the threat of more tornadoes.

Thursday’s storm system will reach the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas on Sunday, bringing showers, thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, Roth said.

Torrential rain and localized flooding is possible in parts of Florida over the coming days.

Related:

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

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.

More from weather.com

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

The start of tornado season was late but deadly, and now severe weather with the potential for twisters threatens parts of the Plains and Midwest -- including major cities -- heading into the weekend, forecasters said.

Severe thunderstorms looked likely to build over the Plains through the weekend and into Monday. There is some chance of tornadoes developing, the channel said, as moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets a jet stream moving eastward from the Rocky Mountains.

Late afternoon thunderstorms were expected to move in over Oklahoma City and Kansas City on Sunday, Weather Channel meteorologist Michael Palmer said. More severe thunderstorms were predicted to build over St. Louis and Springfield, Mo. on Monday, he reported.

As many as 16 tornadoes struck northern Texas on Wednesday evening, leveling homes in the towns of Granbury and Cleburne and claiming the lives of six adults. One of the twisters was preliminarily classified EF-4 by the National Weather Service, meaning its winds reached speeds of 160 to 200 miles per hour.

Overall, tornadic activity has been slow this May, typically the month when twisters do some of their worst damage, said the Weather Channel’s Tom Moore.

“We’ve had a shortened season, so to speak,” Moore said, mostly due to blasts of cold air that brought a late chill to central parts of the country.

Any twisters that develop over the Plains on Saturday are likely to form in remote regions, but the foul weather could move closer to cities on Sunday, covering a wide swath from Oklahoma City and Tulsa to Joplin, Mo., and Springfield, Mo.

“I suspect that there will be some tornadoes on Sunday,” Moore said. “There’s a slight chance it could grow a little bit of a tail, that it could get down to Dallas and Fort Worth.”

Hail as large as two inches in diameter could fall from northwestern parts of Oklahoma to North Dakota on Saturday, moving into Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota on Sunday, the Weather Channel said. The severe weather was slow moving but expected to head further eastward into the later part of next week.

Related:

• 'I couldn't stop screaming': Witnesses describe Texas tornadoes
• Search for Texas tornado survivors: Some victims 'not even near their homes'
• Texas tornadoes devastate neighborhood built by residents, Habitat for Humanity

Terry Prather / AP

Snow falls early Sunday, March 17, 2013, as an Amish family travels to church services near Maysville, Ky.

A pair of storm systems that were moving across the country on Sunday could join forces to bring snow to the Northeast — even as the official start of spring approaches next week.

One storm was spreading snow showers from the Cascades and northern Rockies into the northern Plains and was expected to bring snow to the Dakotas, Minnesota and western Wisconsin tonight, the Weather Channel said.

There was also a chance of snow in West Virgina, southwest Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia Sunday night, according to meteorologists.

Another storm system was moving over the Ohio Valley Sunday and was expected to continue moving east, joining the northern system to produce a "fairly potent storm off the New England coast Tuesday," the Weather Channel said.

In addition, severe thunderstorms were in Monday's forecast from southern Ohio down into Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and northeast Texas.

Snow was expected to close in on parts of the Northeast as the work week gets underway. The Weather Channel said the best chance for accumulating snow and freezing rain was in New England and other interior sections of the Northeast.

Snow is also possible on the I-95 corridor from Washington to Philadelphia Sunday night and from New York to Boston Monday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration called for a chance of rain in New York City Monday, with showers also forecast for Tuesday. NOAA also forecasted snow early Tuesday morning in Boston, but little accumulation is expected as the precipitation turns to sleet and rain during the day.

Wednesday marks the first official day of spring.

Published at 6:05 a.m. ET: A winter storm heading for the Northeast could bring major snowfall to upstate New York and New England on Friday and into the weekend – but forecasts are divided on its potential impact.

A clipper from the north is expected to combine with a rainy storm moving through the South to create a snowstorm for many parts of the region late Friday and Saturday, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth.

However, there is still some uncertainty on exactly where and when the two systems combine, he said.

For cities such as Boston, the changing forecast could mean the difference between an icy nuisance and a major winter storm that would dump up to 2 feet of snow, bringing widespread disruption.

“The European model, which is the generally the best model we have, has continued to insist there is going to be this really big storm but the other models are not bullish on it at all,” the Weather Channel’s Carl Parker said. “The difference is -- will it be a blockbuster for places like Boston?” 

The last time Boston had one foot of snow was in January 2011.

Most of the I-95 corridor is already set for heavy rain on Friday.

Slideshow: Winter's frozen splendor

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Ice and snow changes our environment, as winter engulfs our world.

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Under the European model, the whole region would see significant snow but up to 2 feet would be dumped on Massachusetts – including Boston – and southern Maine overnight Friday.

That level of snow is “potentially life-threatening,” the Weather Channel’s Chris Warren warned.

However, other U.S. models show the two systems combining further to the east, meaning there would still be heavy snow in northern New England but cities such as Boston could receive as little as 2 inches.

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