As wildfires continued to spread across the Carolinas on Friday, storms dropped heavy rain over parts of Texas and Louisiana as forecasters warned of a weekend outbreak of severe weather.
Red flag warnings and wind advisories were active Friday throughout the central and eastern U.S., including in North and South Carolina, where a breakout of wildfires has triggered evacuations and destroyed homes. Flood advisories stretched from South Texas and Louisiana as a potent storm dropped 5 to 12 inches of rain.
Through the weekend, forecasters say over 100 million people are at risk of severe weather, from torrential rain and possible tornadoes in the Plains region to hail and high winds in the Mississippi Valley, according to AccuWeather.
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On Saturday, strong storms will impact a zone from Texas to Nebraska, Arkansas and Iowa. The next day, the volatile weather will broaden, bringing a threat of hail, flash floods and possible tornadoes to a large swath of the country, from Michigan to the Gulf Coast.
As the storms move eastward, they could snarl traffic and disrupt flights Monday in several major cities, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
Wildfires rage in the Carolinas
In North Carolina, wildfires continued to spread in parts of the state ravaged by Hurricane Helene about six months ago. The largest of the blazes, the Black Cove Complex Fire, is the “the highest priority fire in the U.S.,” leading surrounding states to deploy resources to assist in containing it.
The Black Cove Complex Fire, burning outside the city of Saluda, is 3,288 acres in size and 17% contained as of Thursday night, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. Officials have determined it was caused by a downed powerline. Meanwhile, northwest of Columbus, the Deep Woods Fire grew to 3,373 acres and was 30% contained.
In South Carolina, two large wildfires have torched 16 square miles of land and have continued to grow in recent days. On Friday, forecasters warned of continued high winds and dry conditions in the region.
“Weather conditions tomorrow are a concern for increased fire activity, as relative humidity is expected to fall to 23%, and wind gusts could reach nearly 30 mph,” said the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fires spread across Carolinas as central US braces for severe storms