At least 7 deaths when extreme weather conditions hit the plains; the storms then head for the east coast

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At least seven people have died – five in Missouri, one in Oklahoma and one in Iowa – after extreme weather hit the Plains this week.

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At least 80 tornadoes have been reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska within two days. Just Wednesday, 22 tornadoes reportedly reported in Oklahoma and Missouri.

The damage Wednesday night was mainly concentrated in the counties of Jasper and Howard in Missouri.

There were three deaths in the Golden City area, about 45 minutes northeast of Joplin, and several injuries in Carl Junction, a suburb of Joplin, according to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

PHOTO: This image, taken from a video provided by KOCO-5, shows homes dangerously close to the Cimarron River on May 22, 2019, near Crescent, in Oka.
KOCO-5 via AP
This image, taken from a video provided by KOCO-5, shows homes dangerously close to the Cimarron River on May 22, 2019, near Crescent, in Oka.

Local authorities confirmed on Tuesday the deaths of four people, including a woman in Perkins, Oklahoma, in an oil spill that drowned underwater. a 74-year-old woman died of a tornado that allegedly hit her home in Adair, Iowa; and two deaths attributed to a car accident in heavy rain near Springfield, Missouri.

PHOTO: Damage caused by an alleged tornado in Wright County at the Town and Country supermarket in Hartville, Missouri, May 21, 2019.
Missouri State Highway Patrol via AP
Damage caused by an alleged tornado in Wright County at the Town and Country Supermarket supermarket in Hartville, Missouri, May 21, 2019.

Concerns also occurred in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, where two barges escaped Wednesday evening in white water on the Arkansas River, while authorities feared to destroy a dam downstream.

"Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately," the city said on its Facebook page. "The barges are loose and may hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic! Go now !!"

Flood alerts were in effect in the Plains on Wednesday. A further 4 inches of rain is expected in some of the areas already flooded in the next 48 hours.

PHOTO: A damaged house in a tornado on May 20, 2019, in Mangum, Oklahoma, is seen from the sky on May 21. A powerful band of storms spawned more than 30 tornadoes across the central United States.
Sue Ogrocki / AP
A damaged house in a tornado on May 20, 2019, in Mangum, Oklahoma, is seen from the sky on May 21. A powerful band of storms spawned more than 30 tornadoes across the central United States.
PHOTO: Hay bales and material are photographed in a flooded field on May 21, 2019 in Kingfisher, Okla State. Floods following heavy rains have been a problem throughout the state.
Sue Ogrocki / AP
Hay bales and equipment are photographed in a flooded field on May 21, 2019, in Kingfisher, Okla State. Floods following heavy rains have been a problem throughout the state.

Joplin was the scene of a terrible tornado exactly eight years ago, May 22, 2011. More than 150 people were killed in this natural disaster.

On Thursday, part of the storm system moves into the northeast and offers a possibility of extreme weather conditions from West Virginia to New England.

The northeast is particularly exposed to gusts of wind, heavy rains, scattered hail and tornadoes on Thursday afternoon and evening.

The plains will also remain exposed to hail, strong winds and tornadoes.

Will Gretsky, Marilyn Heck, Reed Mcdonough and Melissa Griffin of ABC News contributed to this report.

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