Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is one of the greatest ever sprinters – accustomed to winning Olympic and world titles – so when she took part in a race at her son’s sports day, no one else really stood a chance.

Fraser-Pryce can be seen sprinting off into the distance in video footage which has since gone viral on social media, leaving the other parents trailing meters behind her.

The 36-year-old is the third fastest woman of all time, with only Florence Griffith-Joyner and Elaine Thompson-Herah recording faster times in the 100 meters.

Fraser-Pryce’s speed has carried her to eight Olympic medals – three of them gold – as well as 10 world titles, and now victory at her son’s sports day.

“Every point counts,” she commented, alongside a heart, smiley face, and rocket emojis, on a Facebook post showing the video.

But it seems that Fraser-Pryce is one of the only athletes to push it to the limit outside of the sport’s top echelons, as four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson recalled skipping out on his son’s sports day on Twitter.

“At my son’s school parent sports day I was long retired and some of the parents were younger than me. Increased risk of ‘I’m John and I just beat Michael Johnson in a race.’ Nope!” he tweeted.

With Paris 2024 on the horizon for Fraser-Pryce, it doesn’t seem likely that she will take it any easier in next year’s edition should she take part. Sorry, other parents.

Residents of Paris have voted in favor of banning rental electric scooters from the French capital.

Almost 90% of those who turned out on Sunday for a referendum organized by the Paris mayor’s office voted for the ban.

The turnout was very low, however, with only 7.46% of registered voters casting their ballots in one of the 203 polling stations opened for the occasion.

“On September 1, there will be no more rental scooters in Paris. … This is a victory for local democracy,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said at a press conference over the weekend.

The ban will come into force at the end of August, when the city’s scooter operators’ contracts expire. Private owners of e-scooters won’t be affected.

Operators responded swiftly to the news of the referendum result.

“The real consequence is for our 400,000 monthly users, for the 800 employees of Dott in Paris. Then it’s also for the residents since, mathematically speaking, if we subtract the scooters, it’s more saturation in public transport and more individual vehicles,” Nicolas Gorse, chief business officer of scooter operator Dott, told RMC radio on Monday morning.

In recent years, Paris has introduced a variety of measures aimed at reducing the city’s dependence on private cars and boosting the appeal of other modes of travel. Bike lanes, subsidized e-bike rentals, improved public transportation and e-scooter rentals have all been part of that campaign.

Between mid-2012 and mid-2022, the most recent year for which data is available, there was a 33% drop in traffic on Paris’ roads, according to the city hall.

However, in a report last November, the French academy of medicine described e-scooters as a “true public health problem,” and highlighted that “electric scooter-related accidents are associated with a significant number of serious injuries.”

Paris police do not collect figures for injuries and deaths caused specifically by e-scooters. However, between 2021 and 2022, the number of crashes involving “motorized personal transport devices” – which includes e-scooters, gyropods and motorized skateboards – rose by nearly a third, to 516 accidents, resulting in three deaths, police said.

Paris isn’t the only European city to be grappling with e-scooters. Barcelona was an early champion, but it has partially banned them in historic parts of the city since 2016.

In London, privately owned e-scooters remain illegal for use on public roads, but public trials have been running with three operators since mid-2021.

Astronauts who will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024.

The astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Wiseman is a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot who was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he’s completed one prior spaceflight, a 165-day trip to the International Space Station that had launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2014. Most recently, Wiseman served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022, making him eligible for a flight assignment.

Wiseman will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission.

Hansen, 47, is a fighter pilot who was selected by the Canadian Space Agency for astronaut training in 2009. From London, Ontario, Hansen is one of only four active Canadian astronauts, and he recently became the first Canadian to be put in charge of training for a new class of NASA astronauts.

He will be the first Canadian ever to travel to deep space.

Glover is a 46-year-old naval aviator who returned to Earth from his first spaceflight in 2021 after piloting the second crewed flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station.

“It’s so much more than the four names that have been announced,” Glover said during the Monday announcement at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We need to celebrate this moment in human history. … It is the next step in the journey that will get humanity to Mars.”

Glover, born in Pomona, California, served in several military squadrons in the United States and Japan in the 2000s, and he completed test pilot training with the US Air Force. When he was selected for the NASA astronaut corps in 2013, he was working in the US Senate as a legislative fellow. All told, Glover logged 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, over 400 carrier arrested landings and 24 combat missions.

Glover’s first mission to space was as part of the SpaceX Crew-1 team, which launched to the International Space Station in November 2020 for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.

Koch, 44, is a veteran of six spacewalks — including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, with a total of 328 days in space. Koch is also an an electrical engineer who helped develop scientific instruments for multiple NASA mission. Koch, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also spent a year at the South Pole, an arduous stay that could well prepare her for the intensity of a moon mission.

About this mission

The Artemis II mission will build on Artemis I, an uncrewed test mission that sent NASA’s Orion capsule on a 1.4 million-mile voyage to lap the moon that concluded in December. The space agency deemed that mission a success and is still working to review all the data collected.

If all goes to plan, Artemis II will take off around November 2024. The crew members, strapped inside the Orion spacecraft, will launch atop a NASA-developed Space Launch System rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The journey is expected to last about 10 days and will send the crew out beyond the moon, potentially further than any human has traveled in history, though the exact distance is yet to be determined.

The “exact distance beyond the Moon will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from the Earth at the time of the mission,” NASA spokesperson Kathryn Hambleton said via email.

After circling the moon, the spacecraft will return to Earth for a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Artemis II is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA has vowed will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. It will also mark the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972.

The Artemis III mission is expected to take off later this decade. But much of the technology the mission will require, including spacesuits for walking on the moon and a lunar lander to ferry the astronauts to the moon’s surface, is still in development.

NASA is targeting a 2025 launch date for Artemis III, though the space agency’s inspector general has already said delays will likely push the mission to 2026 or later.

The space agency has been seeking to return people to the moon for more than a decade. The Artemis program was designed to pave the way to establishing a permanent lunar outpost, allowing astronauts to live and work deeper into space long term as NASA and its partners map a path to sending the first humans to Mars.

Picking the astronauts

“I can tell you, they still all have the right stuff,” Wyche said. “We have requirements different than we did (when we) just had test pilots” on inaugural missions.

“We were all sent to a meeting that was on our calendars under a different pretext that didn’t sound as lofty as the one it was going to be,” Koch said. “And accidentally two of us were very late to that meeting.”

She said the offer rendered her “speechless.”

“It truly is an honor,” she added. “It’s an honor — not to get myself in the space — but because it’s amazing to be a part of this team that’s going back to the moon and on to Mars.”

“I felt a lot of hope just bringing the award to the kids,” Cheboi said. “For me, and for the community here, it really means a lot to be celebrated, to be seen.”

Like many of her students, Cheboi grew up in poverty, without access to education and proper nutrition. Her single mother was often unable to afford school fees.

“One of the hardest things about growing up in poverty is hopelessness. You think of yourself as less than,” Cheboi said. “I wanted to turn that into, ‘This can happen for you, too.’”

Cheboi’s nonprofit, TechLit Africa – which is short for Technologically Literate Africa – brings computer science to students using refurbished computers. Many of the children she serves had never used a computer before participating in Cheboi’s program.

“Digital skills provide global opportunities,” Cheboi said. “These kids are doing so much. They have Zoom calls with NASA. They are so worldly.”

Growing up, Cheboi watched her single mother work tirelessly so Cheboi and her siblings could attend school. She saw education as a means to end her own poverty and in 2012, Cheboi received a full scholarship to Augustana College in Illinois and began her studies with almost no computer experience.

“The only tool I had at the time was education,” Cheboi said. “I was able to rewrite my story within years.”

“I’m constantly looking for opportunities to show people this is Christina Cheboi and she happened to have four daughters, she’s worked really hard to educate them.”

“I looked at the audience, it was my mom screaming back at me,” Cheboi said. “This was someone who had no idea that all her hard work is going to amount to something. … I don’t think it can get any bigger than that.”

Cheboi not only won the award and a cash prize to continue her life-changing work, but she also received global accolades from people and places she never dreamed.

The president of Kenya congratulated her the next day, and her alma matter, Augustana College, where her passion for computers started, created a Nelly Cheboi Endowment Fund and has invited Cheboi to be this year’s commencement speaker.

Now in 15 schools, Cheboi’s goal for the year is to set up computer labs and TechLit Africa programs in 100 schools in rural Africa.

“I see a future in Kenya and in the rest of the continent where kids are becoming really tech literate. And then, in turn, becoming global citizens,” Cheboi said. “It’s a ripple effect. Some of them will help us in solving one of so many big challenges we have in the world today.”

LSU star Angel Reese defended the gesture she aimed at Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark near the end of the Tigers’ first NCAA women’s basketball national championship victory on Sunday, saying “I don’t take disrespect lightly.”

Reese could be seen approaching Clark before moving her open hand in front of her face – popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean “you can’t see me” – before pointing to her ring finger in a gesture some interpreted as a reference to the place her newly-acquired championship ring might sit.

Clark made a similar gesture to another player earlier in the tournament.

The gesture has sparked much debate, especially on social media. Some have criticized Reese, while others have defended her actions, highlighting how there was no public outrage in response to Clark’s gesture earlier in the tournament.

Sports journalist Jose de Jesus Ortiz called Reese’s actions “classless,” while former ESPN host Keith Olbermann called Reese an “idiot” for the gesture.

In the press conference after the victory, Reese referenced the difference in reaction she received as a result of her gesture as compared to the one Clark received.

“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese said. “I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, and y’all don’t say nothing.

“So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. And Twitter is going to go into a rage every time.

“And I’m happy. I feel like I’ve helped grow women’s basketball this year. (…) I’m looking forward to celebrating and then next season.”

Reese had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the 102-85 victory and won the women’s March Madness’ Most Outstanding Player award.

In the post-game broadcast, Reese referenced the similar gesture Clark made to a Louisville opponent in the Elite Eight.

In the same game, Clark said to an opponent: “You’re down by 15 points. Shut up,” according to the Bleacher Report.

“Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player but I don’t take disrespect lightly,” Reese said. “She disrespected [LSU’s] Alexis [Morris] (…) and I wanted to pick her pocket. But I had a moment at the end of her game. I was in my bag, I was in my moment.”

After the Championship game, Clark herself said she didn’t notice anything at the time.

“I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and be grateful that my team was in that position,” Clark said in the post-game press conference. “All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous. They deserve it. They had a tremendous season.

“(LSU head coach) Kim Mulkey coached them so, so well. She’s one of the best basketball coaches of all time, and it shows. She only said really kind things to me in the handshake line, so I’m very grateful of that too.

“But honestly I have no idea. I was just trying to spend the last few moments on the court with especially the five people that I’ve started 93 games with and relishing every second of that.”

LSU head coach Mulkey said she had “no clue” about what transpired.

Among those defending Reese on social media were ESPN’s Holly Rowe and former NBA star Etan Thomas.

“People hating on Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark. Stop. Unapologetically confident young women should be celebrated NOT hated. Get used to it,” Rowe wrote on Twitter.

Former Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks player Thomas wrote: “Hold on now!!!! It was cute when Caitlin Clark did it. Y’all didn’t have any issues with it at all. So don’t be all outraged and talking about class and sportsmanship when Angel Reese does the same thing. We’re not doing double standards here.”

Reese said the negative reaction on social media throughout the season has helped fuel her excellent season, having finished averaging 23.0 points and 15.4 rebounds in her first season with LSU after transferring from Maryland.

“Twitter can say what they want to say,” she said. “I love reading those comments. I have all the screenshots of what everybody has said about me all season. What are you going to say now?”

While the LSU Tigers took home their first-ever NCAA women’s basketball championship, there was one player who stole the show throughout March Madness.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark went into the tournament with a lot of people expecting her to dominate, with basketball greats Steph Curry and Sue Bird among those joining in the hype surrounding the junior.

Yet despite the weight on her shoulders, Clark not only lived up the expectations, but surpassed what many were predicting during a historic run of games.

Record-breaker

Clark was lights out throughout the postseason for the Iowa Hawkeyes and torched her opponents at every possible opportunity.

The 21-year-old scored an incredible 191 points throughout the tournament, including dropping 41 points in back-to-back games – the first time someone has had consecutive 40-point games in the history of the women’s tournament.

Clark’s scoring run surpassed any single-tournament March Madness tally – men’s or women’s – and ensured that her historic performances will be remembered for years to come.

Her eight three-pointers in the championship game were also enough to break another record but – unfortunately for Iowa fans – not enough to seal the tournament win.

Not only did the Naismith Women’s Player of the Year break the single tournament scoring record, Clark was dishing out dimes for fun throughout March Madness.

To go with her record-breaking scoring streak, the Iowa native also broke the women’s single tournament assist record with 60 dimes – demonstrating her brilliant, complete offensive game.

This all-around skill was also on display during Clark’s 41-point triple-double in the Elite Eight – the first in NCAA tournament history in the men’s or women’s competition.

Clark will no doubt be disappointed with coming up short in the final, but her run throughout the tournament will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Speaking after the championship game, an emotional Clark spoke on her team’s run.

While crying, the Hawkeyes star said: “I think the biggest thing is it’s really, really special. I don’t think it’s going to set in for me for quite some time.

“I want my legacy to be the impact that I can have on young kids and the people in the state of Iowa, and I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season. I hope this team brought them a lot of joy.”

Clark continued: “I understand we came up one win short, but I think we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to celebrate. I was just that young girl, so all you have to do is dream, and you can be in moments like this.”

The guard has also attracted big name fans throughout the world of sport as a result of her impressive performances.

During the tournament, NBA legend LeBron James tweeted to say Clark is “so COLD,” two-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes shared his support for the guard and Magic Johnson said he wants to “give a lot of love to [the] superstar.”

Pre-tournament, four-time NBA champion Curry also acknowledged the AP Player of the Year’s prowess from deep when speaking to ESPN.

“We know everything kind of centers around her,” explained the NBA’s record three-point scorer. “But she does a great job of scoring at a high level but also being a playmaker and distributor.”

The Warriors star, who knows a thing or two about shooting, added: “No shot is a bad shot when you can shoot it as well as she can.”

WNBA legend Bird also praised Clark’s incredible playmaking, with the 13-time WNBA All-Star saying: “The relationship between her passing and her scoring is what will take her a long way.

“You obviously can’t leave her open. So the closer you are to her gives her more opportunity to create for herself and use that space to create for others.”

What’s next?

Clark won’t be eligible for the WNBA Draft until 2024 so will have at least one more year at Iowa before moving to the league.

Iowa fans will be hoping their star player will be able to go again next year and lead the Hawkeyes to another deep run during March Madness – looking to go one step further and lift the title.

It was just six months ago that Graham Potter was deemed the man to usher in a fresh, exciting era at Chelsea.

The club’s new ownership group, led by American businessman Todd Boehly, had enticed Potter away from Brighton with the promise of managing one of the most lucrative teams in world soccer.

More than $600 million was spent on bringing big-name players to the club and Potter, one of the most exciting young managers in the Premier League, was to mold them into a winning machine.

But, on Sunday, the club announced that it had sacked its manager after an underwhelming spell in charge.

Potter managed to win just 10 of the 28 league matches this season and leaves the team 11th in the Premier League table.

In recent weeks, players had looked a shadow of their former selves and many fans had lost confidence that Potter’s plan for the club could ever work.

Eventually, after previously sticking by its manager, Blues ownership agreed.

“On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea,” the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.

“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.”

In his previous role as Brighton manager, Potter was given time to stamp his identity on the squad.

The club was punching above its weight financially and, as a result, carefully selected new signings which would compliment Potter’s style of play.

The approach paid off as the team became an established Premier League outfit which has gone on to greater things this season – the Seagulls currently sit sixth in the league and in the UEFA Conference League qualification spot.

At Chelsea, it seemed the complete opposite.

As was the case under previous owner Roman Abramovich, the club expected instant results and used its financial weight to sign a number of high-profile names, including the likes of Enzo Fernández and Mykhailo Mudryk.

Despite his impressive CV, Potter had never managed superstars and suddenly found himself in a changing room with multiple.

The scatter gun approach to recruitment also left the team lacking balance and organization with Potter failing to get a tune out of a team busting with talent.

Premier League record

In truth, many had raised an eyebrow when Potter, inexperienced at the very top level, was chosen to replace Thomas Tuchel as manager.

Despite falling out of favor with fans by the end of his tenure, Tuchel had guided Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021 and is still considered by many as one of the best coaches in the world.

The German has gone on to sign with Bavarian giant Bayern Munich through the 2024/25 season and recently told reporters he needed “quite a bit of time to distance himself from Chelsea” because leaving the club had hurt him.

“Todd [Boehly] said he would be different to Roman [Abramovich],” former Liverpool player and current pundit Jamie Carragher wrote on Twitter.

“I feel for Graham Potter, but it was inevitable. You don’t change Tuchel for Potter. Ridiculous decision to start with.”

With 10 games left in the league and a Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid on the horizon, Chelsea still has plenty to play for.

Assistant coach Bruno Saltor will take over on an interim basis, but Boehly and his team must now look for a long-term replacement capable – and willing – to bring order to Chelsea’s chaos.

Potter’s sacking is yet another sign of just how transient managers can be in the top-flight of English football, especially when results aren’t instantaneous.

There has now been a record 12 sackings in the Premier League so far this season, with Potter leaving his position the same day Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was sacked from his.

The previous record was 10 manager changes in a single season, set in four other campaigns, most recently in 2017/18.

The LSU Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 Sunday to win the program’s first NCAA women’s basketball national championship in Dallas, Texas.

LSU shot a blistering 58% from the field in the first half, including 75% from three-point range.

The Tigers’ 59 first half points set a new record for most points scored in a half in a women’s championship game and gave LSU a 17-point lead headed to the locker room.

The Tigers’ first-half barrage was sparked by Jasmine Carson, who came off the bench to score 21 points for LSU in the opening half, including a perfect five of five on three-pointers. Carson finished with 22 points to lead the Tigers.

After the game, Carson described the game as “surreal.”

“Every player dreams of being on a big stage like this and having the game of your life, and for it to come to fruition – it meant a lot,” she said.

LSU’s 102 points also set a new record for most points scored by a team in a women’s championship game.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark led all scorers with 30 points in the game, setting a new record for most points scored in a women’s tournament in the process with 191. The 2023 national player of the year broke the previous women’s record of 177 points set by Sheryl Swoopes in 1993 playing for Texas Tech. Swoopes set the record playing in fives games compared to Clark’s six game total.

Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey was emotional during the game’s final seconds as she secured LSU’s first women’s basketball championship in just her second year at the helm for the Tigers.

“Coaches coach a lifetime and this is the fourth time I’ve been blessed,” an emotional Mulkey, having won her fourth NCAA women’s basketball national championship after claiming three during her time at Baylor, told ESPN.

“Never in the history of LSU basketball, men or women, have they ever played for a championship and to win it, I think my tears are tears of joy. I’m so happy for everyone back in Louisiana.”

The Tigers became just the third No. 3 seeded team to win the title and the first since 1997.

A crowd of 19,482 was in attendance to watch LSU’s victory; according to the NCAA, over 350,000 have turned out to watch the women’s March Madness which is a record for the competition.

The same storm system that brought so much rain and snow to the western US is moving east and intensifying, making for a potential severe weather outbreak that could impact nearly 70 million people from the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on Friday.

“A concerning scenario appears to be developing,” warned the Storm Prediction Center. “Intense, damaging gusts and several tornadoes (some strong and long-track) are expected.”

This weather pattern will be similar to the ones we have seen repeatedly over the last few months, when an atmospheric river event or storm system impacting the West intensifies as it moves eastward, resulting in a severe weather outbreak across the midsection of the country.

There is a small chance of storms Thursday across the Plains, including in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Sioux Falls and Topeka. We could also see gusty winds, hail and the possibility of an isolated tornado.

However, the severe threat ramps up on Friday.

A regional outbreak of severe thunderstorms is forecast Friday, March 31. The most intense storms, capable of damaging gusts , a few tornadoes (some strong & long-tracked), & large hail are expected from the Mid-MS Valley to the Mid-South. More details: https://t.co/QMmU4tBZDt. pic.twitter.com/m3SGTxSF8S

— NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) March 30, 2023

The storm center has placed a Level 4 out of 5 “moderate risk” of severe weather for nearly 4 million people in two separate areas along the Mississippi River: For portions of northeastern Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel and western Tennessee, including Memphis, and for portions of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois.

Places such as Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Iowa City are included in the severe weather threat.

Track the storms here

“Things are still looking quite volatile in our region for Friday,” the National Weather Service office in Quad Cities, Iowa, said. “The storm motions are progged to be over 50 mph, given the strong wind fields, so people should plan ahead for sheltering in case severe weather strikes, as these storms will be moving quickly!”

SPC has upgraded much of the area to a Moderate (level 4 out of 5) risk for severe storms for Friday from 2 to 8 PM. Damaging winds to 70 MPH, tornadoes, and large hail will all be possible. The storms will be moving at 50+ MPH, so you will have little time to seek shelter! pic.twitter.com/cv50egSMYt

— NWS Quad Cities (@NWSQuadCities) March 30, 2023

A wider area that stretches from northern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin down to central Mississippi and southern Arkansas is under a Level 3 out of 5 “enhanced risk” of severe weather.

This threat affects more than 14 million people in places such as Nashville, St. Louis, Des Moines and Little Rock.

“Initially there could be a small tornado threat with storms as they enter our western counties, but a line of storms with a straight-line damaging wind threat will ultimately be the main concern,” the National Weather Service office in Nashville explained.

Winds could gust as high as 70 mph and large hail is possible.

Many of these storms will continue into the overnight hours, creating an even more dangerous scenario because people are asleep.

How to be safe in severe weather

This severe weather event comes one week after a deadly tornado outbreak killed dozens of people, many of them in Mississippi.

There is also an existing threat of severe weather for more than 31 million people from southern Minnesota and Wisconsin down to portions of East Texas, northern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Gusty winds, large hail and the possibility of isolated tornadoes are all possible as the fast-moving storms track eastward.

Along with the severe threat, heavy rainfall could lead to flooding. The prediction center has highlighted an area that stretches from eastern Oklahoma to Kentucky for a slight risk of excessive rainfall.

“Hourly rates of 1-2 (inches) +/hr are possible (with these hourly rates largely driving the flash flood threat, as the bulk of the forecast precipitation is expected over a period of 3-6 hours,” the prediction center explained.

Once the storms form, we could see them begin to “train” – meaning they roll over the same areas for long periods of time. This will be the main driver for potential flash flooding.

Blizzard conditions possible

Heavy snow will spread across much of the Upper Midwest, adding to their already banner winter season.

“Winter weather-related advisories are in effect from South Dakota east into Minnesota and Wisconsin for the potential of snow totals generally between 3-6 (inches), with locally heavier totals of 10 (inches) + possible,” the prediction center said.

Along with heavy snow, winds gusts as high as 50 mph could lead to whiteout conditions.

“Gusty winds behind the front upwards of 50 mph will lead to areas of blowing snow and blizzard conditions, making travel treacherous to impossible.”

Temperatures will remain unseasonably cold with highs on Thursday and Friday only making it into the 20s and 30s.

Lows at night will drop into the single digits Saturday morning.

At least three people are dead and dozens of others were hospitalized after a series of brutal tornadoes tore through multiple states in the South and Midwest Friday, ripping homes to shreds and reducing neighborhoods to scattered debris as meteorologists warned the danger would continue into the night.

The powerful storm that blew through the city trapped residents in their homes and damaged the area significantly, said Rebekah Magnus, with the state’s emergency management division. Footage from the area showed the storm leveled entire blocks across the city, devastating a local high school, ripping buildings apart and leaving little to resemble the homes that hours ago stood there.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency, saying the state will “spare no resource” in responding and recovering from the storm and activated the state’s National Guard. More than 74,000 customers were without power across the state Friday night, according to poweroutage.us.

The storm that pummeled Wynne prompted a tornado emergency in neighboring Tennessee, making the city of Covington “impassable, after ripping out trees and knocking down power lines, according to police. Covington is about 40 miles northeast of Memphis. At least five people were hospitalized at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton after the twister, according to spokesperson Kimberly Alexander. Another 20,000 were without power in Tennessee.

The same vicious storm system also rained down large hail in northern Illinois, powerful enough that it cracked and dented cars’ windshields, according to a Facebook post from the Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.

The latest round of severe weather comes a week after powerful storms pummeled the Southeast and killed at least 26 people. An overnight tornado also leveled nearly the entire community of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where estimated maximum winds of 170 mph roared.

Meteorologists issue rare warning

The Storm Prediction Center earlier on Friday issued a Level 5 out of 5 “high risk” for severe weather – the highest risk level there is when it comes to severe storms – for two regions. One region stretches from parts of eastern Arkansas, southwestern Tennessee and northern Mississippi while another includes parts of southeastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois, and northeastern Missouri and Iowa City in Iowa.

Track the storms here

The last time a Level 5 high risk was issued was on March 25, 2021, when powerful storms and tornadoes killed at least six people and ripped apart communities in the Southeast.

Along with the series of twisters, Friday’s storm system began dumping heavy rain in parts of the South and Midwest Friday night that could lead to flash flooding and drop “very large hail,” the National Weather Service said.

“So everyone in the threat zone should charge their cell phones and pay attention to weather alerts,” Norman added.

Nearly 30 million threatened by tornadoes

More than 27 million people were under tornado watches late Friday evening.

A particularly dangerous tornado watch was also in effect for northwestern Alabama, northern Mississippi and western and central Tennessee, including for the city of Nashville until 1 a.m. CDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center. The tornadoes that develop could have an EF-2 or higher intensity, with destructive winds of more than 111 mph, the center said. And the storms could include baseball-sized hail.

A tornado watch was also in effect for east-central Illinois, central Indiana and western Kentucky, including the cities of Indianapolis and Louisville, until 2 a.m. CDT, according to the prediction center. Those storms could include intense tornadoes, powerful wind gusts and up to golf ball-sized hail.

A reported tornado near Ottumwa, Iowa, Friday afternoon, caused structural damage but has no injuries were immediately reported, local emergency management officials said.

A possible tornado was seen Friday evening passing a local TV station’s stationary camera in Solon, Iowa, blowing debris up in the air.

“Our roof just got lifted off,” KCRG Chief Meteorologist Joe Winters told viewers, referring to the building the camera was mounted on. Seconds later, a roof from another building was seen blowing into the air.

“That’s how quick it happens,” Winters said. “That’s why when warnings are issued, you need to take them seriously and get into a safe place immediately.”

A tornado watch was also in effect for Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana, Southern Wisconsin and Lake Michigan until 10 p.m. CDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Know the difference between a tornado watch and tornado warning

‘This is the worst forecast I’ve seen as governor’

At least three states have activated emergency plans because of the weather.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday he has activated the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan as parts of the state began getting hit by the storm.

“We want to ensure all necessary state resources are available if extreme disruptions and damage were to affect our communities,” he said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also issued a state of emergency Friday, urging residents to be in a safe shelter Friday evening.

“This is the worst forecast I’ve seen as Governor,” he said in a statement. “I am declaring a state of emergency so that we can be prepared. We are taking this very seriously and we need you to take this seriously, too. Please be prepared. Let’s do everything possible to keep everyone safe.”