A wide swath of the Midwest and Plains states is under a tornado watch and severe weather conditions are forecast to persist into next week, the National Weather service said Thursday.

Cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee are at risk for a severe weather outbreak, forecasters said.

A strong storm system coming out of the Great Plains brought severe thunderstorms to the Midwest on Thursday, including a reported tornado that swept through a small Wisconsin city, damaging businesses and homes, forcing road closures and downing power lines, the authorities said.

The NWS confirmed a tornado struck southwest of Arnett. Residents were warned to take shelter. The agency said "risk for tornadoes and extremely large (3+) inch hail continues north and east of Harmon." Tornado warnings also have been issued for the towns of Sharon and Harmon until 7 p.m. May 18.

Severe storms are expected to erupt across a wide swath of Texas late Monday — from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to East Texas.

A "very active and complex mid-May weather pattern" is settling over states from the central United States through the Mid-Atlantic.

Storm systems sweeping across parts of the U.S. Midwest and South have left at least 23 people dead, many of them in Kentucky, where what appeared to be a devastating tornado