Tornado threat moves to southern U.S. after severe storm kills at least 6, unleashes winds and fans wildfires
The threat of the tornado moved eastward to the Mississippi Valley and deep south on Saturday, The day after the massive storm system Operations across the country killed at least six released winds, causing winds that damaged buildings, whipped the storm, resulting in a fatal crash and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states.
The National Weather Service issued multiple tornadoes and severe thunderstorm warnings early Saturday morning, which had fired multiple tornadoes against areas in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Texas. As of Saturday morning, power outages in some states left thousands of people in the dark, according to Findenergy.com.
In Missouri, at least three people died in Butler and Ozark counties. Several tornadoes were also reported in Missouri on Friday, which are just some extreme weather, expected to affect more than 100 million people’s homes. Winds with gusts of up to 80 mph from the Canadian border to Texas threaten snowstorms in colder areas in the north and wildfire risks in warmer and drier areas in the south.
Three people were killed in a car accident Friday in a dust storm in Amarillo County, Panhandle, Texas, according to the sergeant. Cindy Barkley of the state’s Department of Public Safety. One stack involves about 38 cars.
“This is the worst situation I’ve ever seen,” Barkley said. “We can’t say they’re together until the dust settles for settlement.”
Some Oklahoma communities have ordered evacuation as more than 130 fires have been reported across the state. The state patrol said the wind was so strong that they overturned several trailers.
“It’s so bad,” said truck driver Charles Daniel, who towed a 48-foot (14.6-meter) trailer on Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. “There is a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I won’t push it over 55 mph. If I do, I’m afraid it will blow over.”
Forecasters said the weekend tornado and catastrophic winds in Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday, and severe storm threats will continue into the weekend. Heavy rains could cause flooding to certain areas on the East Coast on Sunday.
Experts say it is not uncommon to see such extreme weather in March.
“That’s what makes it unique,” said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. “So there’s a real substantial impact in a big area.”
/ap
Tornado hits storm
The Weather Bureau said there were at least five tornadoes in Missouri on Friday, including a tornado in the St. Louis area. Several buildings were damaged during the storm, including a strip mall in Rolla, Missouri, which was reported tornado Friday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center says that fast-moving storms may produce twisted twists and hail, but the biggest threat will come from straight winds approaching or exceeding the hurricane, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph).
A tornado is expected to be expected on Saturday as part of the central Gulf Coast and to the south of the Tennessee Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
The Storm Forecast Center says parts of Mississippi, including Jackson and Hattyburg, and areas of Alabama, including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, will be at high risk. Severe storms and tornados can also occur in Panhandle in eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee and western Florida.
Alonzo Adams / AP
Wildfires burst under dry conditions
Wildfires in the southern plains may spread rapidly in warm, dry weather and strong winds and have ordered evacuations for certain communities in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
The Texas A&M University Forest Service said that in Roberts County northeast Amarillo, fires quickly went from less than a mile (about 2 square kilometers) to an estimated 32.8 square miles (85 square kilometers) of fires, and the Texas A&M University Forest Services on XX Crews said soldiers on X. Crews stopped progressing before Friday night.
It is about 60 miles (90 km) to the south, and before the afternoon halt, another fire grew to about 3.9 square miles (10 km) .
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management activated its emergency operations center due to several fast-moving fires, which prompted rural areas west of the state and east of Norman to evacuate the town of Lady.
Andy James, head of fire management at Oklahoma Forest Services, said firefighters were introduced in certain areas, which helped authorities jump into the fire as soon as possible. Firefighting aircraft are also deployed in certain areas of Oklahoma and Texas, but are generally unable to fly due to low visibility of smoke and dust, he added.
On Friday night, the National Weather Service said the “extremely dangerous fire complex” is located northeast of Oklahoma City, near Stillwater, and urged some people in about 50,000 cities to evacuate. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders via social media, including homes, hotels and Walmart.
Officials urged people in certain areas of central Missouri Camden County to evacuate due to wildfires, and the state highway patrol warned via social media that they were nearby homes and businesses.
About 120 miles (190 km) of Interstate 70 in western Kansas is temporarily closed due to dust and limited visibility.
The strong winds also phased out electricity for more than 216,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, website PowerOutage.us said.
Snowstorm warning in the northern plains
The National Weather Service began sending a blizzard warning to faraway parts of Minnesota and faraway parts of South Dakota from the early hours of Saturday. Snowfall is expected to reach 3 to 6 inches, possibly up to a foot.
A gust of wind speed of 60 mph (97 kph) will cause white conditions.
