Tornadoes reported in multiple states as death toll from severe weather grows
The death toll from a sprawling outbreak of severe weather rose throughout the day Saturday as severe storms and reported tornadoes plagued the South.
Nightfall Saturday will bring new dangers, as forecasters warned millions of people across Southern states to stay on alert for tornadoes, high winds and thunderstorms. Severe weather has been blamed for the deaths of over a dozen people, a number that could grow with the inclusion of wildfire and traffic deaths.
More than 8.3 million people, mostly in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, were under tornado watches Saturday night. A wind advisory blanketed the nation from Michigan to Florida, covering more than 100 million people.
The dangerous weather comes as a monstrous March storm moves from coast-to-coast. The storm system spun up a tornado in Southern California, dumped snow on the Sierra Nevada, caused dangerous road conditions in Texas and spawned reported tornadoes in the South and Midwest overnight.
The storm system is expected to push toward the East Coast into Sunday, bringing showers and thunderstorms from the lower Great Lakes region to the Northeast and Southeast, the weather service said. There is a slight risk of tornadoes and high winds in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states Sunday.
Tornado watches issued: See national weather map
Deaths toll from severe weather grows Saturday
There were 11 tornado- and storm-related deaths across four counties in Missouri, the state's highway patrol said Saturday morning. Two of those deaths and more injuries were caused by a suspected tornado that touched down in the Bakersfield area of southern Missouri, officials said. Photos posted to social media show damage to buildings and a vehicle. Elsewhere in the state, officials said trees and power lines were down and structures were damaged.
“It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field,” Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County told the Associated Press about the home of a man who was killed. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Three people also died and 29 were injured in Arkansas in connection with a storm system that caused damage across 16 counties overnight, the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said.
In the Texas Panhandle on Friday, a dust storm caused car crashes that killed three people, NBC News and the Associated Press reported. One vehicle wreck included a pileup of 38 cars there.
Another person died in Oklahoma in a traffic accident when they drove into smoke from wildfires that sprang up in the state due to high winds, prompting an emergency declaration across several counties, KRMG reported.
Reports of tornadoes in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas
Multiple preliminary reports of tornadoes across Southern states were logged by the National Weather Service on Saturday as forecasters warned the region was not out of danger yet.
Three likely tornadoes were reported in Mississippi, damaging homes, power lines and a trailer park. Another in Louisiana on Saturday afternoon caused structural damage and blocked roads. A likely EF-3 tornado in Arkansas had peak winds of 140 mph.
"Seek shelter immediately!!!" the weather service in Jackson said in a post on social media as it warned of a "large and dangerous" tornado approaching Marion, Lawrence, Jefferson and Davis counties on Saturday afternoon.
'Particularly dangerous situation' warning issued
Most of Mississippi and parts of northern and eastern Louisiana were under a rare "particularly dangerous situation" (PDS) tornado watch on Saturday. Forecasters said wind gusts up to 75 mph are likely and that several intense tornadoes are expected along with hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter.
"Numerous strong long-track tornadoes are likely, along with very large hail and damaging winds," the National Weather Service said.
A PDS warning is only issued when "long-lived, strong and violent tornadoes are possible."
The alert will remain in effect until 8 p.m. CST.
Thousands of power outages reported
Thousands of people were without power Saturday across several southern and midwestern states, as suspected tornadoes and strong winds knocked down power lines and poles.
These are the states impacted by the storms with the most homes and businesses without power as of Saturday evening:
- Arkansas: 8,767
- Illinois: 18,282
- Indiana: 11,846
- Louisiana: 5,094
- Mississippi: 25,563
- Missouri: 80,040
- Tennessee: 13,152
See the full impact of power outages across the U.S. here.
Where did tornadoes hit Friday night?
There were 23 preliminary reports of tornadoes by 7 a.m. in Missouri, northeastern Arkansas and southern Illinois, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Mike Youman.
Officials in Missouri said early Saturday that a tornado is suspected to have crossed through Bakersfield, which lies at the border with Arkansas.
The weather service in St. Louis said it has begun deploying damage survey teams to areas outside the city. "There is NO way we will be able to survey all the suspected tornado damage today so please be patient."
In Gibson County, Indiana, officials said high winds amid thunderstorms and a potential tornado knocked down trees and power poles and damaged homes and businesses, reported the Evansville Courier & Press, part of the Paste BN Network.
“We have extensive damage in Gibson County around the Oakland City area and the rural Francisco area,” Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said. “I implore you, I beg you, please do not come out and survey the storm damage. Give us time to do our jobs.”
How to stay safe in a tornado outbreak
Residents across the South should closely monitor weather warnings and watches on Saturday, the National Weather Service said. If your area receives a tornado warning, you should immediately seek shelter in the sturdiest structure you possibly can.
The best kind of shelters are tornado storm shelters or specially designed FEMA safe rooms, if you have access to them. Interior rooms in sturdy buildings or a basement are also a good option.
Unsafe options include large open rooms like a gymnasium, manufactured housing, mobile homes, vehicles or underneath a highway overpass.
Within your home, try to put the most walls between you and the outside. If you have an open floor plan, that might mean an interior bathroom or a closet. Stay away from windows.
You can protect yourself by wearing a sports or bicycle helmet, a heavy blanket and hard-soled shoes, the weather service in Birmingham said.
Keep your phone charged and with you. You should also have a leash or carrier for pets.
'Very scary situation': Forecasters warn of Saturday tornado outbreak
An "outbreak" of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms is expected through Saturday night in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, western Georgia, southern Tennessee, the Florida Panhandle and southern Arkansas.
"The most dangerous tornado threat should begin across eastern Louisiana and Mississippi during the late morning to afternoon, spread across Alabama late today into the evening, and reach western parts of the Florida Panhandle and Georgia tonight," the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters in Birmingham said when they look at the potential for tornadoes, they consider factors such as instability, wind shear, how high the base of a cloud will be and others.
"Every single parameter is there Saturday afternoon. Every single one," the weather service there said. "This will be a very scary situation for many... Please take this seriously and please do what you can. Please be safe."
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contributing: Greta Cross, Paste BN