A wide swath of the Midwest and Plains states is under a tornado watch and severe weather conditions are forecast to persist into next week, the National Weather service said Thursday.

This after an estimated 21 tornadoes were reported on May 18. Tornadoes damaged homes just before 7 p.m. local time at Grinnell, along Interstate 70 in northeast Kansas, and just before midnight in the area of Plevna in south-central Kansas, the weather service said. No injuries were reported.

The NWS confirmed a tornado struck southwest of Arnett. Residents were warned to take shelter. The agency said "risk for tornadoes and extremely large (3+) inch hail continues north and east of Harmon." Tornado warnings also have been issued for the towns of Sharon and Harmon until 7 p.m. May 18.

A strong storm system coming out of the Great Plains brought severe thunderstorms to the Midwest on Thursday, including a reported tornado that swept through a small Wisconsin city, damaging businesses and homes, forcing road closures and downing power lines, the authorities said.

A "very active and complex mid-May weather pattern" is settling over states from the central United States through the Mid-Atlantic.

The National Weather Service has issued an Enhanced Risk alert for severe thunderstorms across six Midwest and Great Lakes states.

The forecast from KXAS-TV (NBC5) is showing a 20% chance of rain in Dallas at noon, with rain chances slowly increasing over the rest of the afternoon. There is a 40% chance of rain at 3 p.m., which will increase to 80% by 5 p.m.

Storm systems sweeping across parts of the US Midwest and South have left at least 21 dead, including nine people who were killed after what appeared to be a tornado in south-east Kentucky. In Kentucky,

A cold front and developing low-pressure system will bring multiple rounds of showers and severe thunderstorms through early next week, with the greatest threat for damaging storms on Monday and Tuesday across the Plains and Tennessee Valley.