Parts of the Midwest and South faced the possibility of torrential rains and life-threatening flash floods even as many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that killed several people.

Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Wednesday in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi as storms hit those and other states in the evening. Numerous possible twisters were reported in the South overnight, particularly in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The National Weather Service warned on Thursday of "generational" floods in the southern and Midwestern United States, as storms ripped across a swath of the country from Texas to Michigan, flinging down hail and whipping up tornadoes.