The threat of violent tornadoes in parts of the United States proved destructive and destructive as winds moved eastward to the Mississippi Valley and deep south on Saturday, killing at least 17 people and destroying a large number of homes.
The most deaths on Saturday morning were in Missouri, authorities said. Missouri Highway Patrol also reported several people being injured.
The death included a man who was killed after a tornado tore his house,
“It couldn’t be recognized as a home. Butler County Coroner Jim Akers described the scene where they faced rescuers when they arrived. “The floor was upside down. We were walking down the wall.”
The rescuers managed to save the woman at home, Akers said.
Arkansas officials said three people were killed in Independent County Saturday morning, while 29 others were injured in eight counties.
“We have our first responders to investigate the damage from the tornado last night and to help out with the first responders,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the X.
Meanwhile, on Friday, authorities said three people were killed in a car accident in a dust storm at Amarillo, the Texas Panhandle.
Death comes when a massive storm system travelling around the country unleashes the wind, causing a deadly dust storm and incites more than 100 wildfires.
Extreme weather conditions, including the winds of Hurricane Force, are projected to affect local homes for more than 100 million people. Gusts of winds up to 80 mph (130 kph) were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening snowstorms in cold northern regions and threatening the risk of wildfires in warm, arid regions to the south.
Some Oklahoma communities have been ordered to evacuate after more than 130 fires have been reported across the state.
In Oklahoma, 300 homes were damaged or destroyed due to a fire. Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a press conference on Saturday that about 266 square miles (about 69 hectares) had burned in his state so far.
The state patrol said the wind was very strong and they defeated several tractor trailers.
“This is terrible here,” said Charles Daniel, the truck driver who carries a 48-foot (14.6 meters) trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. “There’s a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I haven’t pushed it over 55 miles. If so, I’m scared to be blown away.”
Experts say it’s not uncommon to see such weather in March.
The tornado collided amidst the storm
The Storm Prediction Center said the fast storm could be as big as baseball on Saturday, but the biggest threat comes from linear winds near or beyond the force of the hurricane.
The serious tornadoes, some of which could be violent over long distances, are expected on Saturday afternoons and evenings. The highest risk areas spread from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi in the afternoon, and from the western Alabama and western in the evening, the Center said.
Wildfires break in dry gusts of wind
Apart from Oklahoma, wildfires elsewhere in the Southern Plains threatened to spread rapidly amidst warm, dry weather and strong winds in Texas, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
The flames in Roberts County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, quickly exploded from a square mile to an estimated 32.8 square mile (85 square kilometers), the Forest Service at Texas A&M University had stopped moving forward by Friday evening, the A&M University Forest Service at Texas said.
About 60 miles (90 km) to the south, another fire grew to about 3.9 square miles (10 square kilometers) before moving forward in the afternoon.
The strong winds have also knocked out over 260,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, according to the website Poweroutage.us.
Blizzard warning on the Northern Plains
The National Weather Service issued a snowstorm warning early Saturday in western Minnesota and parts of South Dakota’s Far East. Accumulation of 3-6 inches (7.6-15.2 cm) of snow was expected, allowing up to 1 foot (30 cm).
Winds breaking through 60 mph (97 kph) were expected to cause a whiteout condition.
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Shipkowski reported from the Toms River, New Jersey. Walker reported from New York. Reynolds contributed from Louisville, Kentucky.
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