4:30 P.M. UPDATE:
Most of Arkansas is included in a slight risk for severe weather Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
The main concerns associated with the system are large hail and damaging winds, the agency said in its latest advisory.
All but the southern and eastern portions of the state are classified in the slight risk category, meaning scattered severe storms are possible.
Tornadoes are not considered a primary threat, though isolated twisters cannot be ruled out, the weather service said.
The storms are set to enter Arkansas on Thursday afternoon and will continue through the nighttime hours into Friday, according to meteorologists.
Forecasters say most areas of the state will see between one-half inch to 1 inch of rainfall.
— Brandon Riddle
EARLIER STORY:
NORMAN, Okla. — Severe thunderstorms with the possibility of tornadoes are forecast for part of the Southern Plains and the mid-Mississippi Valley.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said severe storms with possible tornadoes are forecast Wednesday evening in southwest Oklahoma and northwest Texas. There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms from central Texas and southeast Colorado to southeast Iowa and parts of Illinois and west central Indiana.
The center said the storm threat covers an area of more than 230,000 square miles with a population of more than 11 million people.
The thunderstorm threat will move east Thursday and affect eastern Oklahoma, northeast Texas, far northwest Louisiana, western and central Arkansas and southern Missouri. Large hail and strong wind gusts will be the main threat.
— The Associated Press