South faces threat of ‘violent’ tornadoes, hurricane-force wind gusts amid deadly severe weather outbreak
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ā A deadly, multiday severe weather outbreak across the eastern U.S. continues Saturday, with the risk of a tornado outbreak even higher than it was Friday.
The storm has already killed at least three people in Missouri, according to officials. A man and a woman were killed in the Bakersfield area in Ozark County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol early Saturday morning. About 130 miles to the east in Butler County, another fatality was confirmed to FOX Weather by Robbie Myers, director of Butler County Emergency Management.
Additionally, Wright County, northwest of Hartville, has also reported structural damage. As daylight breaks, more damage will be visible, revealing the full extent of the devastation across the region, troopers said. Officials are investigating multiple other areas of suspected storm and tornado damage across Missouri and Arkansas.
On Saturday, attention turns to the Deep South, where the Storm Prediction Center has outlined a Level 5 risk on its five-point severe weather risk scale for portions of Alabama and Mississippi.
THE SPC 5-POINT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM RISK CATEGORY SCALE EXPLAINED
“Numerous significant tornadoes, some of which should be long-track and potentially violent, are expected on Saturday afternoon and evening,” forecasters at the SPC wrote in a discussion posted Friday.
All told, about 72 million people in the eastern third of the U.S. ā from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast ā face the threat of severe weather Saturday.
In addition to tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are likely with any severe storms that develop.Ā
The end of the multiday severe weather outbreak will happen Sunday when nearly 70 million people from the Northeast to Florida face a risk of severe weather.Ā
The worst of the storms is expected from Virginia to Florida.
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