A wide-reaching storm spawned several intense and violent tornadoes Wednesday and threatens near-nonstop rainfall Thursday that could trigger once-in-a-lifetime flooding. Follow here for live updates.

Several rounds of rain could very well bring a flood concern. DFW and surrounding areas could pick up over 2-3 inches of rain. Storms are still likely into Saturday early afternoon but the severe threat will be lower. We look dry by the end of the weekend.

The National Weather Service described the disaster as "a once-in-a-generation to once-in-a-lifetime" event, warning that the worst may still be ahead.

Parts of Southeast Texas northeast of Houston are under a tornado watch and a flood advisory Friday until 7 p.m., the National Weather Service said. Doppler weather radar at 12:30 p.m. was showing a cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms moving north,

Nearly 30 tornadoes were confirmed after the first wave of the storm, which will extend into the weekend. Mud smeared streets in Nashville, while Memphis and nearby towns eyed the rising Mississippi River.

Millions of Americans across the country are on alert for a severe weather outbreak as violent, long-track tornadoes with damaging winds of up to 80 mph and large hail are expected across the Midwest and South with the cross-country storm moving east.

A life-threatening outbreak of long-lived and strong tornadoes is expected today in parts of the central and eastern US from a powerful, wide-reaching spring storm.

A powerful system of storms is sweeping across the Midwest and South, raising tornado warnings. In Texas, wildfires erupted and high winds caused three fatal crashes, officials said.

Another round of scattered storms overnight into Thursday morning. Then heavier, more widespread showers/storms Friday into Saturday, with a flood threat by the weekend.

Millions of people are under tornado watches across the central United States on Sunday, as a volatile weather system has triggered power outages and huge hail. Nearly 175 million people from Illinois to eastern Texas and beyond could be affected,

“The tornado was taking her, and I grabbed the dress, and she fell, and I just landed on top of both of them. We just — I just stayed on top of them. And I was just, we just, I was just screaming, ‘hold yourself to the ground, hold yourself to the ground’… it seemed like an hour, and it was really just the 45 seconds, I think,” Sharrion said.

WFAA Meteorologist Jesse Hawila will be live on WFAA+ on Wednesday night, looking ahead at the storms expected in North Texas overnight -- and in the days to come.