North Carolina Tornadoes Just The Start: Several Days of Tornadoes Due

There were at least eight reports of tornadoes in North Carolina Friday, which was the opening salvo of what looks to be may be the worst outbreak of severe weather in the United States this year.

A tornado in Green County, North Carolina Friday.  

At least 15 people were hospitalized and around 140 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, according to AccuWeather.

The North Carolina storms were part of an initial storm system that is slowly trudging off the East Coast this weekend.

The storm will spread rain through New England and other parts of the Northeast today, but there will be no more severe weather from this system.

However, a much bigger storm is brewing in the High Plains. The first of the severe storms should fire up today in a long, skinny line in the High Plains from Texas to South Dakota. Enormous hail, high winds, and maybe a few tornadoes will get going this evening in that neck of the woods.

Sunday, the threat intensifies, and strong tornadoes are possible, especially in areas around northeast Texas, eastern Oklahoma and most of Arkansas.

This storm is a slow mover, so more strong tornadoes are possible in the lower Mississippi Valley Monday, and in the Deep South Tuesday.  Let's hope the biggest tornadoes roar through open fields and rural areas, and miss any towns.

You'll surely hear about this bad outbreak of tornadoes and severe storms in the news. High winds, huge hail and quite a bit of flooding are also likely with this.

Up here where we are in the Northeast: Yes, that storm system will get here by the end of the week, but by then, it'll just be rain. Although there might end up being strong thunderstorms from the Mid-Atlantic Coast on south by then, up in New England, early indications are it won't be anything extreme when it gets here.

Here's a YouTube package with still photos and some video of Friday's North Carolina tornadoes.