Survivors of deadly tornadoes share stories: “We wouldn’t be alive”

A massive storm system that brought high winds, rain, tornadoes and wildfires killed at least 40 people in the Midwest and South over the weekend. Some survived the extreme weather by leaving just in the nick of time or riding out the storm.

Aaleigha Contreras, 9, convinced her family to evacuate their home in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, before a tornado barreled through Friday night.

Aaleigha’s mom, Kelsey Webb, told CBS News correspondent Jason Allen, “I was like, ‘We’ve stayed here through several tornadoes, it’ll be fine,’ and then she’s like, ‘No, Mom, we need to leave.'”

Webb heeded her third grader’s warning, driving away minutes before the tornado hit.

Asked if she felt lucky that something inside her told her to leave, Aaleigha said she did. “We wouldn’t be alive,” she said.

In Tylertown, Mississippi, just north of New Orleans, two tornadoes came through the area within about an hour of each other  Saturday. Dejaun Lane rode out the storm in his home.

“They ever tell me a tornado is coming again, I’m going the other way,” Lane told CBS News correspondent Dave Malkoff. “I respect it.”

In Tylertown, tall trees were ripped in half and entire neighborhoods were wiped out. Six people were killed and more than 200 were displaced, Gov. Tate Reeves said.

Hailey Hart and her fiancé Steve Romero hunkered down with their three huskies inside their 1994 Toyota Celica as a twister ripped apart their home Saturday. Romero said he prayed out loud and hugged Hart as the car rolled onto its side, windows shattering, before it landed on its wheels again.

“It was a bad dream come true,” Romero said. The couple escaped with only scratches.

The massive storm system that began Friday earned an unusual “high risk” designation from meteorologists. Still, experts said it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.

There was a significant outbreak of tornadoes, with a preliminary count of 46 tornadoes on Friday and 41 on Saturday, according to Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. 

“It’s not that uncommon to get impacts across that many states, but this one was even on the stronger side of what we would typically see,” he said.

There were no reports of tornadoes on Sunday, but there were many reports of wind damage, especially from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

Wayne County, Missouri, resident Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing trapped neighbors found five bodies scattered in rubble outside what remained of his aunt’s house. Scattered twisters killed at least a dozen people in the state Friday, authorities said.

Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, Missouri, described the home where one man was killed as “just a debris field.”

“The floor was upside down,” he said. “We were walking on walls.”

Wind-driven wildfires caused extensive damage in Oklahoma and officials in both Oklahoma and Texas warned that parts of both states would again face an increased risk of fire danger this week.

Oklahoma officials said more than 130 fires were reported across Oklahoma on Friday and over 400 homes across the state were damaged.

“Nobody has enough resources to fight fires when the wind is blowing 70 mph,” said Terry Essary, the fire chief of Stillwater, Oklahoma. “It’s an insurmountable task.”

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said on Sunday evening that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had confirmed four fatalities related to the fires or high winds across the state.

Dust storms spurred by high winds have been deadly. Eight people died in a Kansas highway pileup involving at least 50 vehicles, according to the state highway patrol. Authorities said three people also were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle.

President Trump said the White House was monitoring the storms and would assist state and local officials to help in the recovery. He said National Guard troops were deployed to Arkansas, where officials confirmed three deaths.

“Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!” Mr. Trump posted on his social media network on Sunday.

At least three people, including an 82-year-old woman, were killed in central Alabama when multiple tornadoes swept across the state.

In Troy, Alabama, parks officials said the recreation center where many residents had taken refuge had to be closed due to damage from overnight storms. No one was injured.

“We are thankful the Lord provided protection over our community, and over 200 guests at the Recreation Center storm shelter on Saturday night,” the parks department said in a statement.

The storm system was moving off the East Coast on Monday with some showers lingering from the mid-Atlantic into eastern New England, according to Chenard, the weather service meteorologist.

Another system is moving out of the Rockies and into the Plains in coming days, Chenard said. The threat of winter weather picks up on Tuesday into Wednesday in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, with significant snow and wind bringing hazardous conditions. To the south, across portions of the Plains, there will be drier air, bringing fire weather risk.

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Stephen Collopy

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