Violent tornadoes hit parts of U.S. as severe storms kill at least 34

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 34 people across six states. 

The deaths came as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires. Forecasters assigned an unusual “high risk” designation to the system, which was also blamed for icy winter weather in northern parts of the country and severe thunderstorms, including on the West Coast, on Sunday.

In all, extreme weather conditions were 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 places to the south.

“The floor was upside down”

In Kansas, at least eight people died and numerous injuries were reported Friday after more than 55 vehicles were involved in a crash due to a dust storm.  

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves reported six deaths across three counties as multiple tornadoes swept through the state. At least three others were missing, Reeves said. 

Missouri recorded more fatalities than any other state as it withstood scattered twisters overnight that killed at least 12, authorities said. The deaths included a man whose home was ripped apart by a tornado.

“It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field,” said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”

Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing people trapped in their homes Friday night found five bodies scattered in the debris outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County, Missouri.

“It was a very rough deal last night,” Henderson said Saturday, not far from the splintered home from which he said they rescued his aunt through a window of the only room left standing. “It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night.”

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.” 

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. 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Saturday that she spoke with President Trump after Friday night’s tornados in the state. 

“[Trump] said to tell the people of Arkansas he loves them and he and his administration are here to help with whatever we need following last night’s tornadoes,” she said in a post on X.

Further south in Texas, officials said four people died after weather-related fatalities, some during car crashes in the midst of a dust storm.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. “We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled.”

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.”

The severe storm front sparked tornadoes in Alabama as it moved eastward, damaging homes and roads. The weather service issued multiple tornado warnings across Alabama Saturday night, advising residents to seek shelter.

In the east Alabama community of Elrod, a CBS News spotter reported that a possible tornado had uprooted trees and damaged at least one home.

And in Sipsey, Alabama, north of Birmingham, a 911 call center told CBS News that a suspected tornado had caused possible injuries and damaged several homes.

At one point, weather service employees at the agency’s Birmingham office were forced to abandon operations and take shelter themselves.

“We’re back. Much thanks to @NWSAtlanta for the help!” NWS Birmingham wrote on social media. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared an emergency in anticipation of the storm’s continued shift eastward. Early Sunday morning, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency used its social media accounts to repost a National Weather Service tornado watch for parts of southeast Georgia. The watch warned of isolated tornadoes, hail and wind gusts of 50 to 70 miles hour.

On the East Coast, heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some areas 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.”

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, the 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.

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.”

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 Gov. Kevin Stitt said that 70,000 acres had burned in the state. About 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 250,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Mississippi, 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.

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