Tornado threat moves to southern U.S.

U.S.
Tornado threat moves to southern U.S. after severe storm kills at least 6, unleashes winds and fans wildfires
Updated on: March 15, 2025 / 8:27 AM EDT / CBS/AP

The threat of tornadoes moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, a day after a massive storm system moving across the country killed at least six, unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up dust storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings early Saturday morning for areas in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Texas. Power outages left thousands in the dark in some of those states as of Saturday morning, according to findenergy.com.

In Missouri, at least three fatalities were reported in Butler and Ozark counties. Multiple tornadoes were also reported in Missouri on Friday, just some of the extreme weather that was forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80 mph were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier areas to the south.

Three people were killed Friday in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo County in the Texas Panhandle, according to Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state's department of public safety. One pileup involved an estimated 38 cars.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," Barkley said, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. "We couldn't tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled."

Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.

"This is terrible out here," said Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 48-foot (14.6-meter) trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. "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."

Forecasters said the severe storm threat would continue into the weekend with a high chance of tornadoes and damaging winds Saturday in Mississippi and Alabama. Heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some parts of the East Coast on Sunday.

Experts say it's not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.

"What's unique about this one is its large size and intensity," said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. "And so what that is doing is producing really substantial impacts over a very large area."