The threat of tornadoes in parts of the U.S. proved deadly as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, causing at least 18 fatalities in four states, injuries and widespread damage.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on social media Saturday that tornadoes had been reported in six counties overnight. He said three hospitalizations have been reported and that “this number is expected to increase.” More severe weather is expected in the state today, he said.
Extreme weather conditions — including hurricane-force winds — are forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80 mph were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier areas to the south. The most serious tornado threats were to eastern Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama, and the western parts of the Florida Panhandle and Georgia, the NWS said.
At least 11 fatalities have been reported in Missouri, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. The deaths come as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said that first responders, volunteers and faith-based partners “worked tirelessly” through the night “in response to a series of devastating tornadoes and severe storms, and before that, dangerous and damaging fires.”
“I appreciate the heroic work of all those who are assisting their fellow Missourians,” Kehoe said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families grieving loved ones, and we stand with all those impacted by these devastating storms.”
In Oklahoma, the governor said one person died on the road, presumably due to smoke.
In Arkansas, officials reported three fatalities in Independence County, and 29 people were reported injured in eight counties in connection to a storm system that moved through the state overnight. Staff from the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) have been called to the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) due to extensive storm damage across the state.
In Texas, three people were killed Friday in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo County in the Panhandle, according to Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety. One pileup involved an estimated 38 cars.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Barkley said, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. “We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled.”
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Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.
“This is terrible out here,” said Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 48-foot trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. “There’s a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I’m not pushing it over 55 mph. I’m scared it will blow over if I do.”
Forecasters said the severe storm threat would continue into the weekend with a high chance of tornadoes and damaging winds Saturday in Mississippi and Alabama. Heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some parts of the East Coast on Sunday.
Experts say it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.
“What’s unique about this one is its large size and intensity,” said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. “And so what that is doing is producing really substantial impacts over a very large area.”The threat of tornadoes moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, a day after a massive storm system moving across the country killed at least six, unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up dust storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states.
Magenta marks areas at highest risk
The Storm Prediction Center uses five categories to warn of expected severe weather, ranging from marginal to high. Its forecast maps are color-coded, with the lowest risk areas in green and the highest shown in magenta.
On Saturday, that area of highest risk includes parts of Mississippi and Alabama.
The “high risk” designation is used when severe weather is expected to include “numerous intense and long-tracked tornadoes” or thunderstorms producing hurricane-force wind gusts and inflicting widespread damage, according to the agency’s product descriptions.
On many days when the “high risk” designation was used in recent years, the forecasts became reality.
David Crane / AP
Tornadoes hit amid storm outbreak
The weather service said at least five tornadoes were reported in Missouri on Friday, including one in the Saint Louis area. Several buildings were damaged in the storm, including a strip mall in Rolla, Missouri, where a tornado was reported Friday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs, but the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph) possible.
“Potentially violent” tornadoes were expected Saturday in parts of the central Gulf Coast and Deep South into the Tennessee Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
The Storm Prediction Center said parts of Mississippi including Jackson and Hattiesburg and areas of Alabama including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa would be at a high risk. Severe storms and tornadoes were also possible across eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee and the western Florida Panhandle.
On Saturday, Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in Georgia due to damaging weather expected to move into the state overnight. It is scheduled to expire on Tuesday.
“This storm will hit at the worst possible time, as people are heading to or already in bed. Before they retire for the evening, I’m urging everyone to be prepared ahead of time and to remain weather aware as long as this system is in the state.”
Alonzo Adams / AP
Wildfires break out amid dry, gusty conditions
Wildfires in the Southern Plains threatened to spread rapidly amid warm, dry weather and strong winds, and evacuations were ordered Friday for some communities in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
A blaze in Roberts County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, quickly blew up from less than a square mile to an estimated 32.8 square miles, the Texas A&M University Forest Service said on X. Crews stopped its advance by Friday evening. About 60 miles to the south, another fire grew to about 3.9 square miles before its advance was halted in the afternoon.
In Oklahoma, the National Weather Service said a “complex of extremely dangerous fires” was located northeast of Oklahoma City, near Stillwater, and urged some people in the city of about 50,000 to evacuate on Friday evening. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders via social media that included homes, hotels and a Walmart.
Overall, nearly 150 fires were reported in Oklahoma, Andy James, the state’s Forestry Services fire management chief, told local media. The State Patrol said on social media that winds toppled several tractor-trailers.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said that 70,000 acres had burned in the state. There were about 14,000 power outages, and 293 homes and structures had been destroyed as of Saturday afternoon — including Stitt’s own farmhouse, he said.
Firefighters had been prepositioned in certain areas, which helps authorities jump on blazes early, James said. Firefighting aircraft were also deployed in some parts of Oklahoma and Texas but were generally unable to fly due to low visibility from smoke and dust, he added.
Officials urged people in some areas of central Missouri’s Camden County to evacuate due to wildfires, and the State Highway Patrol warned via social media that they were nearing homes and businesses.
Roughly 120 miles of Interstate 70 in western Kansas were temporarily shut down due to blowing dust and limited visibility.
High winds also knocked out power to more than 216,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according the website poweroutage.us.
Blizzard warnings in Northern Plains
The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of far western Minnesota and far eastern South Dakota starting early Saturday. Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches were expected, with up to a foot possible.
Winds gusting to 60 mph were expected to cause whiteout conditions.
