The storm that may produce severe weather locally on Friday afternoon has been slamming the central United States the past few days.
The cold side of the storm has caused heavy snowfall from the Rockies up through the Northern Plains and the upper Midwest. A summary of snow amounts can be foundhere.
The rest of the storm system has been causing heavy rainfall and major river flooding. In fact, some rivers may be heading for near-record or record crests in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Here is a 24-hour plot of precipitation just for the period of 8 am Wednesday to 8 am Thursday. A major swath of heavy rainfall stretches from northern Missouri and parts of Iowa up through northern Illinois. Localized amounts in excess of 6 inches fell within this main area of 3 to 5 inch rainfall.
A secondary area of heavy rain fell in severe thunderstorms across much of Oklahoma. Tornadoes touched down in extreme southwestern Oklahoma near the town of Lawton, with additional tornadoes northeast of Tulsa. Outside of the tornado touchdowns, winds in excess of 60 mph and hail anywhere from 1 to 3 inches in diameter occurred.
When the storm reaches us late Friday, severe storms with heavy rainfall will be possible, but will not be on the scale of what has happened to our west.
