Mid-May is living up to its reputation for severe weather as an active weather pattern brings the threat of strong tornadoes, damaging hail and intense, destructive wind gusts over multiple days.

A busy stretch of severe thunderstorms is underway due to record heat and now the threats are ramping up, putting major metro areas from Chicago to Nashville under threat as the country hits the peak of tornado season.

Possible tornadoes ripped down trees and power lines in three states Thursday, and severe weather soaked a Beyoncé concert in Chicago and sent the crowd in cowboy hats seeking cover, officials said.

Beyoncé was set to take the stage at Soldier Field Thursday night for the first night of her Cowboy Carter tour in Chicago, but the concert was delayed for more than two hours due to severe weather. Late in the afternoon,