At least six people have died in severe storms as tornadoes and fires wreak havoc on dozens of states.
Three of the deaths have been reported by authorities in Missouri, while three more occurred in Texas in car crashes as dust storms hit the state on Friday.
Numerous more people are reportedly injured as huge storms move across the Midwest, unleashing severe thunderstorms, whipping up deadly dust storms and fanning over 100 wildfires.
The extreme weather conditions are forecasted to affect over 138 million people, with hurricane force winds gusting upwards of 80mph stretching from the Canadian border down to Texas.
Blizzard-like conditions are set to hit colder northern areas, with devastating wildfires being fueled in warmer, drier areas of the south.
On Saturday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) said it was forecasting ‘numerous significant tornadoes, some of which should be long-track and potentially violent,’ that will be ‘expected this afternoon and evening.’
The most serious tornado threats were to eastern Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama, and the western parts of the Florida Panhandle and Georgia, the NWS said.
Dust storms caused mayhem on Texas roads, with Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety describing the damage as ‘the worst I’ve ever seen.’
At least six people have died in severe storms as tornadoes and fires wreak havoc on dozens of states
Severe hurricane-strength winds battered numerous states, causing huge pileups and flipping tractor-trailers (seen in Missouri) as a number of fatal car accidents were reported Friday
Barkley said three people were killed Friday in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo County in the Texas Panhandle, with one pileup involving an estimated 38 cars.
‘We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled,’ Barkley said, describing the near-zero visibility conditions.
Over 130 fires were reported in Oklahoma, causing evacuations as authorities said winds were so strong they toppled several tractor-trailers.
Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 48-foot trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma, told the Associated Press the severe weather conditions were ‘terrible.’
‘There’s a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I’m not pushing it over 55 mph. I’m scared it will blow over if I do,’ he said.
