Claiming at least 35 lives across six states this weekend, severe storms continue to pose a threat with ongoing tornado watches in the Southeast United States.
David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, released a statement reporting 26 tornadoes, though these have yet to be confirmed as having made touchdown. The tornadoes were associated with a potent low-pressure system that swept across Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri. The storm’s intensity was rare enough to be labeled a “high risk” by weather forecasters. While such extreme weather events are not uncommon in March, this occurrence is particularly severe.
Approximately 150,000 consumers are without power across the affected regions, according to PowerOutage.com. Missouri has recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 12 deaths across five counties. Robbie Myers, Butler County’s director of emergency management, briefed reporters on the destruction: over 500 homes, a church, and a grocery store devastated, with a mobile home park being “totally destroyed”, resulting in fatalities.
Mississippi has confirmed six deaths as reported by Governor Tate Reeves, with damages affecting 29 people and spanning over 21 counties. Arkansas saw three fatalities, alongside 32 injuries, as reported by the state’s Department of Emergency Management. Eight deaths occurred in a Kansas dust storm crash involving over 50 vehicles, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported, with multiple injured travelers treated at local hospitals. Central Alabama has seen at least three deaths due to tornadoes, including an 82-year-old woman in a destroyed manufactured home. Lastly, crashes caused by dust storms near Amarillo, Texas, resulted in three fatalities, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.
