OKLAHOMA CITY — A severe weather system continued its journey eastward into the Mississippi Valley and the Deep South on Saturday, following a chaotic day of destructive winds, dust storms leading to fatal accidents, and wildfires raging across central states.
In Missouri, multiple tornadoes were documented on Friday, part of a storm predicted to impact over 100 million individuals. Wind gusts reaching up to 80 mph stretched from the Canadian border to Texas, bringing blizzard-like conditions in the north and posing a wildfire risk in the south.
Early Saturday morning, the National Weather Service issued tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas.
In Texas, Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety reported that three fatalities resulted from car crashes caused by a dust storm in Amarillo County. One of the pileups was estimated to involve 38 vehicles.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Barkley commented on the near-zero visibility conditions, describing them as a nightmare.
Oklahoma faced more than 130 fire incidents, leading to evacuations in some communities. The intense winds were so powerful they overturned tractor-trailers, according to the state patrol.
“This is terrible out here,” shared Charles Daniel, a truck driver navigating Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. Faced with sand and dirt in the air, he opted not to exceed speeds of 55 mph for fear of being blown over.
Forecasters warned that the severe weather threat would persist over the weekend, bringing a high likelihood of tornadoes and damaging winds to regions like Mississippi and Alabama. Meanwhile, heavy rains could lead to flash flooding along parts of the East Coast on Sunday.
March weather often brings extremes, but experts indicated that the vast size and intensity of this system were exceptional. “What’s unique about this one is its large size and intensity,” noted Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
On Friday, at least five tornadoes affected structures in Missouri, including damage to a strip mall in Rolla. The Storm Prediction Center alerted that the storms were capable of producing tornadoes, baseball-sized hail, and straight-line winds of up to 100 mph.
For Saturday, the National Weather Service anticipated “potentially violent” tornadoes across the central Gulf Coast, Deep South, and Tennessee Valley, affecting areas like Jackson and Hattiesburg in Mississippi and Birmingham and Tuscaloosa in Alabama. Severe weather was also predicted in eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee, and the western Florida Panhandle.
Concurrently, dry, gusty conditions threatened to intensify wildfires across the Southern Plains, prompting evacuations in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and New Mexico. A fire in Roberts County, Texas, expanded rapidly over the day, while another in the south was held back later in the afternoon.
In Oklahoma, the Department of Emergency Management activated its emergency coordination center, responding to fast-moving fires and necessitating evacuations of towns like Leedey. Despite firefighters being strategically positioned and aerial firefighting support available, flying was often hampered by dense smoke and dust.
The National Weather Service on Friday evening cautioned about a “complex of extremely dangerous fires” near Stillwater, Oklahoma, prompting evacuation calls on social media. Likewise, authorities urged evacuations in central Missouri’s Camden County due to approaching wildfires.
Blowing dust necessitated the temporary closure of roughly 120 miles of Interstate 70 in western Kansas, creating hazards due to limited visibility. High winds led to power outages affecting over 216,000 homes and businesses across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri.
In the Northern Plains, blizzard warnings were issued for parts of Minnesota and South Dakota, with forecasts indicating snow accumulations up to a foot and wind-driven whiteout conditions.
