Around 11 million Americans are under flood alerts Saturday evening as a "ring of fire" weather pattern continues to impact the eastern two-thirds of the country through the weekend. A flash flood emergency was issued near the Washington, D.C., area, including suburban Maryland, such as Chevy Chase and Silver Spring until 9 p.m. ET.

A flood watch began at 3 p.m. and runs until 3 a.m. in the following 11 counties: Salem, Gloucester, Camden, northwestern Burlington, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.

There are reports of multiple people being swept away by flooding in Virginia as tens of millions of people are at risk of dangerous flash floods in pockets of nearly every region of the contiguous United States Friday,

The storms can produce damaging winds and cause flooding, as one to three inches of rain are expected in some areas.

Forecasters are tracking a potential mesoscale convective system that could unleash damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and surrounding areas over the next 24 hours.