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WEATHER
Snow storms and blizzards

From 70s to blizzard, tornado threat: Dangerous storm to slam Midwest

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Vehicles make their way down the Mt. Rose Highway near Reno, Nev., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

After several days of freakish warmth, winter unleashed a furious comeback in portions of the central U.S. on Thursday, as the threat of tornadoes loomed just 200 miles to the east.

Blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings are in effect through Friday from Wyoming to Michigan, with more than a foot of snow forecast in some spots. The National Weather Service in Minneapolis warned of difficult travel conditions, predicting up to 18 inches of snow could fall in portions of southern Minnesota.

Winds will gust over 40 mph in parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Weather Channel reported.

On the other side of the same system, severe storms — including the threat of tornadoes — are likely to blast portions of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky on Friday. Damaging winds and large hail are also possible, the Storm Prediction Center warned.

Earlier this week, the same storm system slammed the western U.S. with rain and snow, causing destructive flooding in parts of southern California, AccuWeather said.

Much of the eastern U.S. will continue to bask in unusually warm weather through Friday, with dozens of record high temperatures expected. Hundreds of record highs toppled over the past week in the Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes and East, the Weather Channel reported.

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