Five tornadoes hit the Kansas City area Monday night. Did a change in National Weather Service balloon launches leave forecasters in the dark about the threat for much of the day?

Six tornadoes were reported and hail up to 4 inches across damaged cars and homes. Damage surveys are underway as heavy rain raises flooding concerns in parts of the region.

Communities across the Midwest are still cleaning up from tornadoes that hit earlier this week. Another threat could bring more violent storms on Friday to parts of the region. Meanwhile, historic flooding in Michigan triggered evacuations in some areas.

CNN reports that more than 24 tornadoes have been reported from eastern Kansas to southern Minnesota and Wisconsin since Monday night, with more severe weather possible in some areas for the next 24 hours. The report also has an interactive map of the United States showing at least 27 reported tornadoes in the last seven days.

After severe storms damaged communities in the Plains and the Midwest, forecasters warned that storms could bring giant hail, tornadoes and severe wind gusts to the regions again. Authorities in Kansas reported several people with minor injuries after storms passed through on Monday.

The air has been sticky, with temperatures rising through the afternoon each day before the clouds start to appear. By evening, the phone alerts begin to sound, announcing warnings of thunderstorms that could bring giant hail, damaging winds, flash floods or even dangerous tornadoes.

Severe thunderstorms tore across parts of the Midwest, producing multiple tornadoes and unleashing destructive hail and damaging wind.

Tornado Touches Down Near South Pekin A tornado was confirmed to have touched down close to South Pekin, Illinois, on Friday evening, leading to urgent alerts throughout central Illinois as the storm swiftly advanced through the area.