Severe Weather and Wildfires Sweep Across Midwestern and Southern States

The potential for tornadoes moved eastward into the Mississippi Valley and southern regions on Saturday, trailing a colossal storm that, just the day before, had wreaked havoc. With its fierce winds, the storm damaged structures, incited fatal dust storms, and fueled over 100 wildfires throughout various central states.

On Friday, Missouri faced reports of multiple tornadoes. Forecasted winds, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph, spanned from the Canadian border to Texas. These conditions threatened blizzard-like weather in the colder northern regions, while the warmer, drier areas in the south were at risk of wildfires.

In Amarillo County, Texas, three lives were lost on Friday due to car accidents during a dust storm, as reported by State Department of Public Safety Sgt. Cindy Barkley. A notable car pileup involved around 38 vehicles.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Barkley described. “We couldn’t distinguish the vehicles until the dust partially settled.”

In response to the dire situation, officials in Oklahoma ordered evacuations as over 130 fires blazed across the state. Winds were so intense that several tractor-trailers were overturned.

The threat of severe storms was anticipated to persist through the weekend, with a high likelihood of tornadoes and damaging winds targeting Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday. Heavy rainfall could bring about flash floods along portions of the East Coast by Sunday.

At least five tornadoes were reported in Missouri on Friday, including one near Saint Louis, leading officials in St. Louis County to declare a state of emergency.

Several structures sustained damage during the storm, including a strip mall in Rolla, Missouri, where a tornado was reported Friday afternoon.

The Storm Prediction Center warned that rapidly moving storms could bring about tornadoes and hail as large as baseballs. However, the primary risk remained from straight-line winds potentially reaching hurricane-level speeds of up to 100 mph.

The National Weather Service predicted tornado activity on Saturday within parts of the central Gulf Coast, the Deep South, and extending into the Tennessee Valley.

High-risk areas included parts of Mississippi—like Jackson and Hattiesburg—and parts of Alabama, including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The threat extended to eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee, and the western Panhandle of Florida.

Wildfires in the Southern Plains posed a rapid-spread threat due to warm, arid climates combined with robust winds.

Evacuations were ordered on Friday for select regions in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and New Mexico.

In Texas’s Roberts County, a fire ballooned from under one square mile to an estimated 32.8 square miles, according to the Texas A&M University Forest Service on X. By Friday evening, crews had managed to halt its advancement.

To the south, roughly 60 miles away, another fire expanded to about 3.9 square miles before it was contained that afternoon.

In Oklahoma, the Department of Emergency Management activated its emergency operations center due to numerous rapid fires, causing evacuations in the western town of Leedey.

The National Weather Service reported extremely perilous fires northeast of Oklahoma City, near Stillwater, which prompted mandatory evacuations including residences, hotels, and a Walmart.

High winds left over 216,000 homes and businesses without power across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri.

Starting early Saturday, the National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. Snow accumulations were estimated between three to six inches, with up to a foot possible in some areas.

Gale-force winds reaching 60 mph were expected, leading to whiteout conditions.