Threat of tornadoes moves to U.S. South after big storm unleashes winds and fans wildfires

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 6:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The menace of tornadoes moved eastbound into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South connected Saturday, a time aft a monolithic tempest strategy moving crossed the state unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up particulate storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned much than 100 wildfires successful respective cardinal states.

Multiple tornadoes were reported successful Missouri connected Friday, conscionable immoderate of the utmost upwind that was forecast to impact an country location to much than 100 cardinal people. Winds gusting up to 130 km/h were predicted from the Canadian borderline to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions successful colder bluish areas and wildfire hazard successful warmer, drier areas to the south.

Three radical were killed Friday successful car crashes during a particulate tempest successful Amarillo County successful the Texas Panhandle, according to Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state's section of nationalist safety. One pileup progressive an estimated 38 cars.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," Barkley said, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. "We couldn't archer that they were each unneurotic until the particulate benignant of settled."

Evacuations were ordered successful immoderate Oklahoma communities arsenic much than 130 fires were reported crossed the state. The State Patrol said winds were truthful beardown that they toppled respective tractor-trailers.

"This is unspeakable retired here," said Charles Daniel, a motortruck operator hauling a 14.6-metre trailer on Interstate 40 successful occidental Oklahoma. "There's a batch of soil and ungraded successful the air. I'm not pushing it implicit 55 mph. I'm frightened it volition stroke implicit if I do."

Forecasters said the terrible tempest menace would proceed into the play with a precocious accidental of tornadoes and damaging winds Saturday successful Mississippi and Alabama. Heavy rainfall could bring flash flooding to immoderate parts of the East Coast connected Sunday. 

Experts accidental it's not antithetic to spot specified upwind extremes successful March. 

"What's unsocial astir this 1 is its ample size and intensity," said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Centre in Norman, Okla. 

Tornadoes, ample hail

The upwind work said astatine slightest 5 tornadoes were reported successful Missouri connected Friday, including 1 successful the Saint Louis area. Several buildings were damaged successful the storm, including a portion promenade successful Rolla, Mo., where a tornado was reported Friday afternoon.

The Storm Prediction Centre said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail arsenic ample arsenic baseballs, but the top menace would travel from straight-line winds adjacent oregon exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 160 km/h possible. 

"Potentially violent" tornadoes were expected Saturday successful parts of the cardinal Gulf Coast and Deep South into the Tennessee Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

The Storm Prediction Centre said parts of Mississippi including Jackson and Hattiesburg and areas of Alabama including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa would beryllium astatine a precocious risk. Severe storms and tornadoes were besides imaginable crossed eastbound Louisiana, occidental Georgia, cardinal Tennessee and the occidental Florida Panhandle. 

Wildfires amid dry, gusty conditions 

Wildfires successful the Southern Plains threatened to dispersed rapidly amid warm, adust upwind and beardown winds, and evacuations were ordered Friday for immoderate communities successful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.

A blaze successful Roberts County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, rapidly blew up from little than two square kilometres to an estimated 85 quadrate kilometres, the Texas A&M University Forest Service said connected X. Crews stopped its beforehand by Friday evening.

About 90 kilometres to the south, different occurrence grew to astir 10 quadrate kilometres before its beforehand was halted successful the afternoon. 

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management activated its exigency operations centre due to respective accelerated moving fires that prompted evacuations of the municipality of Leedey successful the occidental portion of the authorities and successful a agrarian country eastbound of Norman.

Firefighters had been prepositioned successful definite areas, which helps authorities leap connected blazes early, said Andy James, Oklahoma Forestry Services occurrence absorption chief. Firefighting craft were besides deployed successful immoderate parts of Oklahoma and Texas but were mostly incapable to alert owed to debased visibility from fume and dust, helium added. 

Friday evening, the National Weather Service said a "complex of highly unsafe fires" was located northeast of Oklahoma City, adjacent Stillwater, and urged immoderate radical successful the metropolis of astir 50,000 to evacuate. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders via societal media that included homes, hotels and a Walmart. 

Officials urged radical successful immoderate areas of cardinal Missouri's Camden County to evacuate owed to wildfires, and the State Highway Patrol warned via societal media that they were nearing homes and businesses.

Roughly 190 kilometres of Interstate 70 successful occidental Kansas were temporarily unopen down owed to blowing particulate and constricted visibility.

High winds besides knocked retired powerfulness to much than 216,000 homes and businesses successful Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according the website poweroutage.us.

Blizzard warnings successful Northern Plains

The U.S. National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of acold occidental Minnesota and acold eastbound South Dakota starting aboriginal Saturday. Snow accumulations of 7.6 to 15.2 centimetres were expected, with up to 30 centimetres possible. 

Winds gusting to 97 km/h were expected to origin whiteout conditions.