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.

A tornado watch was issued by the National Weather Service Monday afternoon for parts of seven states in the central U.S., from Nebraska south to Texas.

At least 28 people have been killed in storms that have pummeled the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions since Friday.

At least 28 people have died in severe weather that swept from the lower Midwest to the South over the weekend, with Missouri and Kentucky suffering the worst of it, authorities said.