At least three people have been killed as the storm’s powerful system wiped out a wide area in the central and southern parts of the United States.
An estimated 138 million people are at risk of bad weather from the southern plains to the Midwest, with tornado warnings being issued in parts of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee.
The Storm System has reinforced over 100 wildfires, leaving behind buildings that have been completely destroyed.
Missouri Highway Patrol said the tornado caused two deaths in the Bakersfield area of Ozark County, and the tornado was killed after reports of multiple injuries. I posted a photo of a ruined building that was destroyed and ruined, and a broken car on the side of the road.
Another died in Butler County on the Missouri border with Arkansas after an extreme weather hit her mobile home on Friday night, county rescuers told NBC News.
Butler County Emergency Management says the number of deaths there could be an increase, and search and rescue operations are underway at the site.
Three people died in a car accident caused by a sandstorm on Friday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Cindy Barkley. She said the crash fall is in the Amarillo area and accused him of strong winds and low visibility.
Millions are at risk as the storm paves paths through the region.
According to Poweroutage.us, more than 300,000 customers have no electricity in the Midwest and South.
Almost half a dozen tornadoes have been reported in Missouri alone.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado has reportedly torn trees and power lines across the state, and St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK reported that the company was damaged and the tractor trailer capsized.
Tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas and Mississippi. The report is unconfirmed. The Storm Investigation Team will usually determine later whether the tornado actually occurred. Weather Services in Jackson, Mississippi shared a photo of the X, despite what is said to be a large wedge tornado north of Kruger.
Footage circulating on social media and verified by NBC News shows the broken remains of a fuel station outside a 10-box store in Poplar Bra, Missouri.
Other photos posted by the Missouri Highway Patrol showed storm damage to a bus barn in Dixon, about 95 miles southwest of St. Louis, Laura, Missouri.
Damage from the storm at Laura’s South US 63 and major damage to Dixon’s bus barn. More information is now available, so stay tuned for updates. #stormdamage #missouriweather pic.twitter.com/kjc5mj7pxj
– MSHP Troop I (@msphtrooperi) March 15, 2025
Strong night tornadoes at EF2 on the tornado intensity scale defined by sustained winds between 113 and 157 mph are possible from southern Iowa to Jackson, Mississippi.
The worst system is to threaten to undermine the fire on Saturday. The size of baseball was reported in Christian County, Missouri on Friday night, according to Weather Service.
Wide range of tornadoes, severe weather risks
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe declared an emergency Friday as the state has been preparing for a volatile atmosphere for the night. The declaration will allow state resources to reach local governments quickly, his office said.
“I urge all Missouri people to stay vigilant, monitor the weather forecast and follow official warnings,” he said.
Mayor Timothy Lowry of Florisant, Missouri, told KSDK that there was “a lot of damage” in the city, including many homes. The station also fell to the landmark restaurant Handel, the station reported.
“So tonight we’ll be saying a very scary night in the city of Florisant,” Laurie said.
Police in St. Louis warned late Friday that there were reports of vehicles trapped in high water, urging people to “never do.”
The tornado clock was issued to Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and parts of Tennessee.
A tornado that crossed the Central Gulf state and led to Tennessee Valley could also be found late Saturday. Significant tornadoes were possible in eastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Strong winds and fires in Texas, Oklahoma
In Texas, it blows out drivers that blow dust with fatal consequences, officials said.
Texas Public Safety Director Cindy Barkley said Friday that there were three fatal clashes in the Amarillo area due to strong winds and low visibility. The number of deaths was not immediately clear.
One person was killed and two others injured in a crash crash between three Palmer County vehicles and four other vehicles, according to Cesar Marquez, Bovina mayor and fire chief. It was not clear whether the crash was included in the three Amarillo regions.
“There was so much dirt that I was shocked every time we approached something,” Marquez said.
Parts of northern Texas saw gusts of wind at 62 mph, according to National Weather Service data.
Potter County Fire and Rescue Service reported four roads were restricted or closed after separate incidents where Bigglig had “turned over.” The county in the Texas Panhandle includes the northern half of Amarillo.
“Visibility is poor at best and there are zero locations,” the agency said on social media. “If you don’t need to go out, stay where you are.”
It wasn’t just a dust problem. The same system whipped wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma on Friday as the low-pressure system moved east.
The low visibility and strong winds have caused multiple collisions across Texas’ South Plains.
Texas Public Safety Bureau
According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the largest active fire of the state’s six active wildfires, the Roberts County windmill fires, rose from 500 to 18,000 acres in less than a day. The flames included 50% on Friday night.
Fires in the rest of Grey County marched over 4,500 acres on Friday, but the expansion stopped by the evening, the Texas A&M Forest Service said. Firefighters said they had achieved 30% containment by the end of the day.
Texas A&M Forest Services said Thursday it could be suitable for wildfires in the Great Plains in the south. This is a dangerous weather formula that was not officially declared by Friday afternoon, but is based in part on low humidity and heavy winds.
7pm – Several large wildfire complexes continue in central, northern and western Oklahoma. These will continue to be an issue for the next few hours, especially when wind shifts are approaching. pic.twitter.com/rl0bq9dvpt
– NWS Norman (@nwsnorman) March 15, 2025
Multiple fires were burning in Oklahoma on Friday night.
Gov. Kevin Stitt asked residents covered in forced evacuation in Mumford, the state’s northeastern city, to “now” in a wildfire that infuriated Friday night.
Forced evacuations were also effective in some Norman, where multiple wildfires were burning, according to the Norman Police Department.
The forced evacuation in Stillwater City expanded late Friday at locations that include Walmart and multiple hotels, covering “several square miles.”
The wind clearly promotes multiple structural fires in the city, with firefighters reinforcements on the way in the statement.
Norman’s National Weather Service office said earlier that a “dangerous wildfire outbreak” had been underway and later identified flames near Chikasha, Chandler, Kamargo and Reedy. And residents were urged to evacuate near Lake Carl Blackwell. It is also located in Lincoln County, where evacuation was ordered north of the town of Meridian.
Weather system moving east
The low-pressure system promises turbulence eastward by the end of the weekend, affecting the southern and northern areas of the central part of the country.
Moving to the East Coast on Sunday, the tornado threat will move to Virginia and Carolina.
On the north side of the front, including the Upper Midwest and the Northern Plains, snowstorms were predicted over the weekend, allowing 8 inches of snow in some areas.
According to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, the new week was expected to bring more winter storm behavior when at least two low-pressure systems march east.
The first of the two will probably form a solid counterclockwise winter storm. There is a high chance of snow falling inside, including the Midwest and the Great Lakes, with the second storm likely to bring fresh waves of snow, rain and thunderstorms from rocky mountains to midwest to late Midwest, from the first day of Astronomical Spring on Thursday.
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