A storm system blamed for the deaths of four people moved eastward Wednesday, putting 21 million people in the central United States at risk for bad weather, forecasters said. The storms that hit Texas and Oklahoma late Tuesday brought tornadoes, tennis ball-sized hail, and powerful winds, but no widespread damage was reported at the beginning of what is expected to be a stormy week in the central and parts of the southern United States. The storms left nearly 200,000 customers without electric power on Wednesday. Three of those killed were storm researchers trying to track tornadoes in northern Texas. They died after their cars collided near Spur on Tuesday night, police said. In Oklahoma, a truck driver was killed near El Reno in a roll-over crash likely caused by high winds, police said. There were 15 reports of tornadoes from the Texas storms, with most of the twisters in the northern and western parts of the state, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. Large hail hit Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas overnight, causing damage to vehicles. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma said an area stretching from Louisiana to central Missouri, including much of Arkansas, could see very large hail, strong tornadoes, and powerful winds Wednesday. Parts of Texas still were at risk for storms as the system exited the state, and a tornado warning was issued Wednesday morning for the Houston area. Forecasters said the storms could intensify Thursday as the system moves past the Mississippi River.
