Severe thunderstorms are again possible into the weekend in parts of the East and central U.S. as a June siege of severe weather continues.

Thursday's Severe Swarm

Thursday was another active day and evening with over 400 reports of severe weather in the Plains, Midwest and Northeast.

Destructive tornadoes tore through parts of Illinois, including the south and east sides of Streator, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago.

Tornado damage was also reported near Dwight and Hoopeston, Illinois. Damage from possible tornadoes was reported in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, the western Chicagoland suburb of Bartlett, north of Fithian, Illinois, and in Merrillville, Indiana, where homes and a high school's roof was damaged.

Trees and power lines were downed from parts of Indiana into Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New York and Connecticut. Over 700,000 customers lost power during Thursday's severe weather, primarily in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Friday's severe threat

First some good news. Much of the Midwest will get a brief break from severe weather Friday.

Friday's main threat will be in the East, from parts of western New England to the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley.

This will include a large portion of the busy I-95 corridor, including New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond and Washington, D.C.

That said, any severe thunderstorms will be more scattered than they have been in the Midwest earlier this week. Expect strong thunderstorm wind gusts to be the main concern with any storms that do fire up in the East on Friday.

Some scattered severe storms are also possible in parts of the southern High Plains through the night, from northeast New Mexico into the Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, with hail and strong wind gusts.

Saturday's threat returns to the Plains

After a one-day break, clusters of severe thunderstorms are expected in parts of the Plains Saturday and Saturday night.

Strong wind gusts and locally flooding rain are the two main threats, but a few tornadoes and some large hail is also possible.

These thunderstorms may occur in parts of the area below in the morning, and once again in the afternoon and evening.

Severe siege since Sunday

There have been almost 1,500 reports of severe weather in the U.S. from Sunday through Thursday night, primarily in the Plains and Midwest, but also in parts of the East.

Last Sunday, the most notable tornado was an EF1 in Bowbells, North Dakota. There were nearly 100 damaging wind reports, with a gust of 98 mph reported in Emmet, North Dakota. Of the 17 large hail reports, the highest was a report of 3.25 inches in diameter in Redig, South Dakota.

Two landspouts were reported on Monday, June 8, one in Nebraska and one in Texas. Of the 50 hail reports, the most impressive was a report of hail that was 3.40 inches in diameter in Cedar Point, Colorado. If you thought the 98 mph wind gust from June 7 was impressive, Salina, Kansas, reported a gust over 110 mph on June 8.

Among the almost 300 reports of severe weather on Tuesday, June 9 was a tornado near Freeland, Michigan, which overturned campers and lead to roof and siding damage of up to 40 homes.

Several thunderstorm wind gusts over 75 mph were clocked in the Plains, including an 85 mph gust near Heartwell, Nebraska, and a 78 mph gust in Richmond Lake, South Dakota.

Over 400 reports of severe weather were received by the National Weather Service Wednesday morning through early Thursday morning mainly in the Midwest and Plains. That was one of the four most active 24-hour periods of the year, so far, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Most of those reports were thunderstorm winds and wind damage, particularly from a squall line of storms that roared from eastern Iowa through southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois (including Chicagoland), then into Lower Michigan. Structural damage was reported in Allegan, Michigan; Amherst, Ohio; Antioch, Illinois; Horicon, Wisconsin; and downtown Chicago.

Damaging tornadoes tore through areas near Jameson and Unionville, Missouri.