'Extremely dangerous' tornadoes hit Midwest putting THOUSANDS of lives at risk as houses are torn to the ground and children are left trapped... with the worst still yet to come

By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 23:38, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 23:57, 17 April 2026 Millions of people in the Midwest are under extreme weather warnings, with the National Weather Service already confirming an 'extremely dangerous' tornado in Wisconsin. The tornado was located 6 miles northeast of Weston, which is near Green Bay. The twister was said to be moving 35 miles per hour and has already torn through at least five towns, according to the NWS. 'A large and extremely dangerous tornado has been confirmed. Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building. If in a mobile home, vehicle, or outdoors, move to the closest structure and protect yourself from flying debris,' the weather service warned residents. 'Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible,' the NWS added. Storms are expected to develop from Wisconsin to Texas early Friday afternoon, according to weather forecasts.  More than 50 million people are in a path that is about to be battered by possible tornados, hail and hurricane-level winds, according to Fox Weather. People in affected areas have already shared photos of houses and other structures that were ravaged by the storms, which have been going on intermittently throughout the week. There have also been reports that there are children hunkering down in an elementary school in Lena, Illinois, where another tornado has struck. Pictured: Debris from a home in Union Center, Wisconsin, that was destroyed by a tornado on Tuesday Pictured: Downed trees in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from Tuesday's storm Eleven states are at risk of severe thunderstorms and tornados on Friday A tornado warning had been issued for Lena, as well as nearby Freeport and Orangeville by the NWS. According to radio traffic from Stephenson County, local officials were contacted by the NWS about a large and 'extremely dangerous' tornado west of Lena. A short time later, those same officials were discussing 'quite a bit' of damage, according to CBS News. No injuries were reported in Lena and students were kept safe inside the impacted elementary school according to the radio traffic. The school's exterior though was severely damaged, per chatter from officials. Meteorologists with AccuWeather warned that the highest risk of severe thunderstorms will be seen in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Major cities, including Chicago, Minneapolis, St Louis, Kansas City, Madison, Wichita, Oklahoma City and Dallas, are expected to experience severe thunderstorms imminently.  AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said in a statement: 'People in the path of these storms should stay alert and be ready to act.' 'Make sure your phone is charged, alerts are on, and your storm shelter or safe place is ready and stocked with emergency supplies. Never drive on flooded roads, especially at night,' the expert added. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.