Cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee are at risk for a severe weather outbreak, forecasters said.

Nearly 60 million people in the central and southern U.S. are once again under threat of severe weather Tuesday, including most of Kentucky, which just endured a tornado outbreak last Friday that claimed at least 19 lives in the state.

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.