Violent tornadoes and strong winds destroyed homes, wiped out schools, and defeated the fallen semi-critic trailer as a monster storm.
Missouri resident Dakota Henderson said others who are saving him and his locked neighbors discovered five bodies scattered around the wreckage Friday night, outside what remained at his aunt’s house in Wayne County. Authorities said the scattered twisters killed at least 12 people.
“Last night was a very rough deal,” Henderson said Saturday that he wasn’t too far from the split home. “It really bothers me what happened to people last night.”
The dynamic storm, which has earned an unusual “high risk” designation by weathermen, has been criticized for icy winter weather in the north of the country on Sunday, including the West Coast, icy winter weather in the country’s north, and intense thunderstorms including the West Coast.
Authorities were still sifting through the damage caused by a massive tornado. Missouri’s Butler County Coroner Jim Akers described an “unrecognized house” in which one man was killed as “just a field of debris.”
“The floor was upside down,” he said. “We were walking down the wall.”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced that six people have died in three counties, and three more have gone missing late Saturday.
Authorities confirmed three deaths in Arkansas, where Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency. In Alabama, Dallas County Sheriff Michael L. Grantham said there is one storm-related fatality in the county.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has also declared an emergency with the storm shift east. Early Sunday morning, Georgia’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security reposted the National Weather Service’s tornado watch in parts of southeastern Georgia using its social media accounts.
In response to isolated tornadoes and watches warning of 50-70 mph ail and gusts of wind, Kemp posted a note that his family “praying for this stormy system and those who are still praying for those on their way.”
“We will continue to work closely with state and local officials to respond to damages and assess needs following this weather event,” Kemp wrote.
Spurred by the system’s early winds, Duststorm insisted on living for almost 12 people on Friday. Eight people have been killed in the Kansas Highway Pileup, which includes at least 50 vehicles, according to State Highway Patrol. Authorities said three people were killed in a car accident during a dust storm at Amarillo, the Texas Panhandle.
Extreme weather includes zones of 100 million people
Extreme weather conditions are projected to affect the area home to more than 100 million people, threatening snowstorms in cold winds northern regions and inciting the risk of wildfires in warm, dry areas to the south.
Some Oklahoma communities have reported more than 130 fires statewide, and evacuation has been ordered after nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed. Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a press conference on Saturday that about 266 square miles were burning and he shared the loss of his home on a ranch northeast of Oklahoma City.
In the north, the National Weather Service issued a snowstorm warning early Saturday in parts of western Minnesota and parts of South Dakota’s far western states. Accumulation of 3-6 inches of snow was expected, and up to 1 foot was possible. The wind was expected to cause a whiteout condition.
Still, experts said it’s not uncommon to see such weather in March.
The tornado is widespread
The area continued late Saturday and was at the highest risk of stretching from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi to Alabama and from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi to Alabama via the Florida Panhandle.
Bailey Dillon, 24, and her fiancé, Caleb Burns, had seen her from a front porch in Tyratown, Michigan.
They then checked if anyone needed help.
“The amount of damage was devastating,” Dillon said. “It was a ton of cabins, RVs, campers. Everything was destroyed.”
Paradise Ranch said on Facebook that all staff and guests are explaining safely, but Dillon said the damage has extended beyond the RV park itself.
“The house and everything was destroyed around it,” she said. “The schools and buildings are completely gone.”
Some images from extreme weather have gone viral online.
Tad Peters and his father, Richard Peters, refueled a pickup truck in Laura, Missouri, Friday night, to hear the tornado sirens and watched other drivers flee the interstate.
“Oh, is this coming? Ah, it’s here. I’m saying in the video. “Look at all the pieces of that. Ah, my God, we’re torn…”
His father then rolled the window.
The two headed to Indiana for a weightlifting competition, but decided to return to Norman, Oklahoma, about six hours away, where they encountered a wildfire.
Roberson, Reynolds and Walker write for the Associated Press. Walker reported from New York and Reynolds. Jeff Roberson of Wayne County, Missouri; Jean Johnson of Seattle. San Francisco’s Johnny Herr contributed to this report.
