At least 42 people have lost their lives after a powerful and dynamic storm system tore through eight states in the South and Midwest of the United States over the weekend. The fierce weather unleashed devastating tornadoes, blinding dust storms, and raging wildfires, uprooting trees and flattening hundreds of homes and businesses.
The storms, which began on Friday and tapered off by Sunday, prompted weather forecasters to issue a rare ‘high risk’ designation. Missouri suffered the highest death toll with 13 fatalities, while Mississippi reported six deaths due to tornadoes.
In Oklahoma, wildfires and high winds were blamed for four deaths, including a person who died in a car crash caused by poor visibility and another individual whose remains were found in a burned home. Dust storms led to deadly vehicle crashes in Kansas and Texas, claiming eight and three lives respectively. Alabama and Arkansas each reported three fatalities.
Tragically, two young boys aged 11 and 13 were killed in North Carolina when a tree fell on their home on Sunday. A significant outbreak of tornadoes was recorded, with preliminary counts of 46 on Friday and 41 on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Mississippi faced a particularly harsh impact when two strong tornadoes struck the same county within an hour on Saturday. The twisters, rated EF-2 and EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, caused severe damage in Walthall County and the town of Tylertown.
Wildfires driven by strong winds caused extensive damage in Oklahoma, with over 130 fires reported across the state on Friday and more than 400 homes damaged. Officials warned that parts of Oklahoma and Texas could face increased fire risks in the coming week due to drier conditions.
Meanwhile, dust storms spurred by high winds resulted in massive vehicle pileups. In Kansas, at least 50 vehicles were involved in crashes on a highway on Friday, leading to eight deaths. Similar conditions in the Texas Panhandle led to car crashes that killed three people.
While tornado watches had mostly expired by Sunday, the National Weather Service cautioned that dangerous winds could still affect the Carolinas, eastern Georgia, and northern Florida. Another weather system is expected to move out of the Rockies into the Plains in the coming days, bringing threats of winter weather, including significant snow and wind in states like Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Further south, portions of the Plains may experience drier air, increasing the risk of wildfires. Communities affected by the recent storms are now surveying the damage and preparing for the possibility of more severe weather.
