(AP) — From the Texas border to near Joplin, Mo., residents are being told to keep an eye to the sky and an ear out for sirens.

Severe weather is hammering the nation’s heartland again, with tornado warnings posted in the Southern Plains.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a mother and child were killed as tornadoesmoved through Oklahoma City.

Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph says troopers found the bodies near a vehicle along Interstate 40 west of the city Friday.

Tornadoes slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs, crumbling cars and tractor-trailers.

The broad storm hit during the evening rush hour, causing havoc on I-40, a major artery connecting suburbs east and west of the city.

To the south, winds approaching 80 mph were forecast for Moore, where a top-of-the-scale EF5 tornado killed 24 on May 20.

Damage is reported south of Interstate 40 near El Reno after the twister swept through a rural area. The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office says it does not have any reports of injuries.

Well before Oklahoma’s first thunderstorms fired up in the late afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., was already predicting a violent evening.

The warned area includes Moore, an Oklahoma City suburb where 24 people died in a twister last week. Forecasters label the tornado watch as a “particularly dangerous situation.”

Bad weather is also expected in parts of southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri.