Newsman: At least 42 people are dead after powerful storms swept through the Midwest and the South over the weekend and drenched parts of the Northeast. Dozens of tornadoes leave path of destructions across 7 states. At least 8 million people were under winter storm watches and warnings, although the storms’ impacts were less severe than those over the weekend.
People of seven states woke up on Monday morning seeing damage from dust storms, wildfires, rain, and tornadoes, following nearly 1,500 storm reports across the country from Friday to Sunday.
The National Weather Service office of Jackson, Mississippi, reported at least eight confirmed tornadoes from Friday to Saturday in the state, with more likely as surveys continue.
The National Guard is being deployed as residents across the United States began to assess the fallout from dozens of tornadoes, wildfires, and dust storms that left at least 42 people dead and hundreds of decimated buildings in their wake over the weekend.
Red flag warnings will also go into effect Monday in parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico and Florida as high winds and low humidity raise the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said. Extremely critical fire weather conditions are also expected on Tuesday across southeast New Mexico, northwest Texas and the Texas Panhandle, an area home to more than 1.2 million people, the National Weather Service warned.
“A Red Flag Warning means that extreme fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry vegetation can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” the weather service in Fort Worth, Texas said. “Avoid all outside burning and welding today. Do not toss lit cigarette butts outside.”
Additionally, the weather service said a front is expected to bring rain from the Northeast to the southern mid-Atlantic Coast by Monday evening, and the Northeast by Tuesday evening.
Nationwide, there are more than 130,000 power outages Monday morning, according to USA TODAY’s outage tracker, including over 25,000 outages in Missouri, where at least a dozen people were killed and an EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 140 mph was reported Saturday.
President Donald Trump said in a statement that his office was monitoring the deadly bout of severe weather that struck the region and deploying the National Guard to Arkansas, where three people died. Dozens more were injured after an EF-3 tornado with 165 mph winds ripped through Cave City on Friday.
“My administration is ready to assist state and local officials, as they help their communities to try and recover from the damage,” Trump said. “Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!”
Field crews from weather service offices across the central and eastern U.S. began surveying the damage Sunday after deaths were reported in Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Oklahoma, where almost 300 houses and structures were destroyed by wildfires. As clean-up begins for some, parts of the Central and Southern High Plains will be at risk for extreme or critical fire weather Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Missouri saw the highest initial death toll as state officials confirmed a dozen people were killed.
“The devastation is heartbreaking,” Gov. Mike Kehoe posted on X Saturday.
In Kansas, eight people died when high winds and a dust storm caused a massive collision on Interstate 70 involving at least 71 vehicles, said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced that six people died and at least 27 people were injured statewide during a news conference Sunday. Three people who had been reported missing on Saturday have also since been found alive, according to Reeves. Hundreds more were displaced by the storms.
Three people also died in Independence County, Arkansas, according to the state division of emergency management and 32 people were injured across eight counties. At least three people were killed in central Alabama and damage was reported in 52 of the state’s 67 counties, Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed.
Another four deaths were reported in two Texas counties after blowing dirt and wildfire smoke caused multiple car crashes Friday, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Cindy Barkley told USA TODAY. Nearly 40 vehicles were involved in another crash in Randall County, Barkley said, though no life-threatening injuries were reported. “We had so many crashes that day, I can’t even keep up,” she said.
The chief medical examiner’s office in Oklahoma confirmed four fatalities occurred as a result of the fires or high winds. The storm brought 60 to 70 mph winds to Oklahoma on Friday and the sustained gusts knocked down power lines, ripped off shingles from houses, broke tree limbs, felled street signs, caused road closures and filled the sky with dust. More than 130 fires were reported in 44 counties, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said Friday night.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said about 170,000 acres in Oklahoma burned and promised a “post-mortem look” on the causes of the wildfires beyond the high winds and low humidity. “We think some of the power lines contributed to this,” he said.
Severe weather also caused a tree to fall on a trailer in Brevard, North Carolina, killing two boys, ages 11 and 13, fire officials said Sunday. A tornado watch issued across a large swath of North Carolina and Virginia expired early Monday morning, though the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported the chance of showers and storms would continue.
Light snow is also expected to fall over the Lower Great Lakes and Central Appalachians through late Monday afternoon, with light snow also developing over parts of northern New England from Monday evening into Tuesday morning.
Light to moderate snow is also expected to develop over parts of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and Upper Mississippi Valley on Monday before moving into the North and Central High Plains by Tuesday evening, the weather service said.
