Tornado-Hit Towns Braced For Round Two

Millions of people in the Great Plains are braced for a second round of severe weather just days after 51 tornados ripped through their states.

The greatest risk is from western Kansas into western Oklahoma, where tornadoes and "golf-ball sized" hail are anticipated.

It comes as the Red Cross opened an evacuation centre in the Oklahoma city of Shawnee because of fears a dam is close to cresting.

Weather Channel forecaster Michael Palmer said: "All the ingredients are coming together for a major severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak Saturday for the central and southern Plains.

"Golf ball or even baseball-sized hail is possible from some of the thunderstorms, with winds of 60 to 70mph.

"With repeated rains over the past several days, flooding will also be a concern, especially in Oklahoma and Texas."

There are reports that more than 10,000 homes are without power in and around Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma State University brought forward three commencement ceremonies to avoid the storms.

Wednesday's storms in Oklahoma City were so heavy that a 43-year-old woman drowned after becoming trapped inside her storm cellar.

Elsewhere, the National Weather Service has forecast up to five inches of snow in the Nebraska Panhandle and up to 12 inches for South Dakota over the weekend.

And on the East Coast people are waiting to feel the effects of subtropical storm Ana.

Ana is plodding at 3mph closer to North and South Carolina, bringing dangerous surfs and drenching rains.

The storm packs top winds of 60mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Officials at the centre say it has come weeks before the official start of the hurricane season and is the earliest subtropical or tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin since 2003.