A stretch of the United States from San Antonio to Pittsburgh is facing the threat of heavy rain and severe storms this weekend as a sprawling system lingers, bringing with it the risks of flooding, hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes.

Excessive rain will bring a flash-flood risk to much of Oklahoma and Missouri, as well as parts of Northeast Texas and Arkansas. Through the weekend, people in a more widespread area could see heavy amounts of rain as the system moves very slowly east.

Severe thunderstorms unleashed large hail and whipped up powerful winds in central Texas on Saturday.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down 20 miles south of Sterling City, Texas, at 4 p.m. local time. Sterling City is about 150 miles south of Lubbock.

Hail larger than baseballs and winds greater than 70 miles per hour were expected.

One of the main concerns with this system is its slow pace, which may lead thunderstorms to repeatedly break out over the same regions, increasing the risk of flash flooding.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Notes:  Minor flooding is defined as causing minimal or no property damage. Moderate flooding could lead to inundation of structures and roads, causing some evacuations. Major flooding could lead to extensive inundation of structures and roads, causing significant evacuations. By Bea Malsky

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