Storms give way to mostly pleasant weekend. Get Bill Steffen's forecast

Intense thunderstorms impacted tens of millions in the Midwest into Thursday night.

As AccuWeather meteorologists predicted, severe thunderstorms raced across the central U.S. from West Texas to the Great Lakes. Numerous reports of wind damage, including trees being uprooted and damage to homes, large hail and tornadoes occurred across Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.

In Illinois, numerous large tornadoes led to widespread damage across Illinois and northwestern Indiana, including near Streator and Dwight, Illinois, and Hebron and Hobart, Indiana.

As of early Friday morning, almost 400,000 customers were without power in Illinois and Indiana. Around 95,000 customers are currently without power in Michigan.

5-day forecast

• Friday: Mostly sunny, breezy and less humid. High: 74 degrees. Tonight should be clear with a high of 63 degrees.
• Saturday: Windy with intervals of clouds and sunshine; a thundershower late in the afternoon. High: 79 degrees. In the evening, expect partly cloudy skies with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm. Low: 58 degrees.
• Sunday: Breezy and not as warm with clouds giving way to a brightening sky. High: 68 degrees. In the evening, expect clear to partly cloudy skies with a steady late-night breeze. Low: 55 degrees.
• Monday: A steady breeze in the morning; otherwise, times of clouds and sun with a high of 70 degrees. In the evening, expect clear to partly cloudy skies with a low of 60 degrees.
• Tuesday: Partly sunny with a couple of showers possible with a high of 73 degrees. Expect an evening shower in spots; otherwise, partly cloudy and increasingly windy. Low: 57 degrees.

— Check out Bill Steffen's Substack channel.