Today’s top weather news: Major severe storm outbreak threatens nearly 70 million starting Friday

FOX Weather has you covered with the breaking forecasts and weather news headlines for your Weather in America on Thursday, March 13, 2025. Get the latest from FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin.

Welcome to the Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather. It’s Thursday, March 13, 2025. 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.

Increased threat of major severe weather outbreak, including nighttime tornadoes, Friday into Saturday 

According to the FOX Forecast Center, an outbreak of dangerous severe storms is now likely Friday afternoon and potentially into the overnight hours as a powerful storm system intensifies across the central U.S. Nearly 70 million people are at risk of severe weather between Friday and Friday night.

All hazards are possible, including swaths of intense winds and strong tornadoes, some of which could spin up during the evening and overnight. The overall tornado threat spans more than 1,000 miles.

Over 6.5 million people across parts of southeastern Iowa, central and southern Illinois and eastern Missouri, including St. Louis, are under a level 4 out of 5 risk on NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) severe thunderstorm risk scale.

This multiday threat extends into the weekend. Saturday’s risk level is the highest the SPC has issued this far in advance in three years.

This graphic shows the severe weather threat on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

(FOX Weather)

Additional evacuations, closures as atmospheric river drenches California

San Francisco and Los Angeles were battered by strong winds and doused with heavy rain from the ongoing atmospheric river Wednesday.

Flash Flood Warnings are in effect Thursday morning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. As many as 21,000 customers were reported to be without power overnight.

Additional evacuations were issued for areas that were scorched by recent wildfires due to concerns about mudslides. Schools in Malibu near the site of the Palisades Fire were closed.

The rain will taper off later Thursday morning as this storm system moves into the Rockies, where it will help trigger the major severe weather threat by Friday.

Winds from atmospheric river take down trees in San Francisco, California, knocking out power.

(KTVU FOX 2)

Windstorm concerns for northern Plains Friday

There is increased potential for a significant windstorm event as this weekend’s coast-to-coast storm passes through the northern Plains and Midwest beginning Friday evening.

This includes the chance for a derecho, a widespread, long-lived windstorm, which can cause widespread power outages.

These winds will also bring blowing snow, which will create near-blizzard conditions. The Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Minnesota will be most at risk. 

Near-blizzard conditions forecast for northern Plains this weekend.

(FOX Weather)

Watch: Woman trapped inside car as Florida tornado hurls debris at it

Jeanismar Rangel was praying to God and sobbing while a tornado bore down on her in Central Florida on Monday as she sat in her vehicle.

Rangel, who recorded the video from the Orlando suburb of Longwood, captured images of rain and powerful winds sending debris toward her.

The National Weather Service gave the tornado a rating of EF-2. No major injuries were reported.

A video shot in Longwood, Florida, shows a tornado hurling debris toward a woman as she was trapped in her car during the storm on Monday. (Courtesy: Jeanicmar Rangel / TMX)

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