37 dead as tornadoes, powerful storms crush multiple US states

At least 37 people are dead after dozens of tornadoes, high winds, and dust storms pushed across the United States over the weekend, decimating homes and other structures in several states.

Deaths were reported in Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri, where the storms killed a dozen, including three on Friday night when an EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 140 mph ripped through Bakersfield, the National Weather Service said Saturday. A Kansas highway pileup involving over 70 vehicles claimed at least eight lives, according to the state highway patrol.

The severe weather threat will linger through Sunday from Florida northward into the upper Ohio River Valley, the Storm Prediction Center warned. More than 60 million in the U.S. are at risk on Sunday.

A tornado watch in portions of north-central Florida was extended to 5 p.m., and a tornado watch is in effect for parts of northeastern West Virginia, northwestern Virginia, and central Pennsylvania until 7 p.m., with an enhanced risk of severe weather in western New York.

Nationwide, more than 337,000 power outages were reported on Sunday afternoon, including nearly 41,000 outages in Missouri, according to USA TODAY's outage tracker.

The Storm Prediction Center has logged 75 preliminary tornado reports in seven states since Friday. The weather service is working to confirm the total number of tornadoes.

Weather service offices in scattered locations across the central and eastern U.S. had field crews conducting tornado damage surveys on Sunday.

President Donald Trump released a statement Sunday, stating his office was monitoring the tornadoes and storms that impacted the region and deploying the National Guard to Arkansas.

"My administration is ready to assist state and local officials, as they help their communities to try and recover from the damage," Trump added. "Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!”

• The Columbia, South Carolina office sent a survey team to the north side of Lake Murray and planned to send additional teams on Monday.

• The St. Louis office sent two teams into the field Sunday. One team on Saturday concluded a tornado path from Elmont, Missouri to Union, a result of an EF-1.

• In Tennessee, a team confirmed an EF-1 with 95 mph in Christiana.

• In New Orleans, two teams were working on damage surveys.

Early Saturday evening, the staff at the weather service office in Birmingham was forced to seek shelter in their "safe room," when a tornado-warned storm approached their office, according to a post on X.

12 tornadoes estimated in Mississippi

During a news conference Sunday afternoon, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced that six people died in three counties. Reeves also reported that at least 27 people were injured statewide. Preliminary reports on Saturday initially indicated that there were 29 injuries.

Three people who had been reported missing on Saturday have also since been found alive, according to Reeves. As of 4 p.m. local time, Reeves said about 217 people in Mississippi are displaced.

"We are now up to 23 counties across Mississippi that are reporting damage and damage assessments are ongoing," Reeves said. "We currently have completed somewhere in the neighborhood of 575 damage assessments."

State officials and the National Weather Service are still working to confirm the total number of tornadoes that swept across the state. Reeves said preliminary data on Sunday estimated that 12 tornadoes hit the state from Friday to Saturday night.

State officials also noted flood damage in some parts of the state, including Prentiss and Tishomingo counties where culverts were damaged and roads were inundated with water.

'The devastation is heartbreaking'

In Missouri, state officials confirmed a dozen people had died. "The devastation is heartbreaking," Gov. Mike Kehoe posted on X Saturday. "Homes and businesses have been destroyed, entire communities are without power and the road to recovery will not be easy."

In Kansas, eight people died when high winds and a dust storm caused a massive collision on Interstate 70 involving at least 71 vehicles, said Trooper Tod Hileman with the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Three people died in Independence County, Arkansas, according to the state division of emergency management and 32 people were injured across eight counties. A Friday night tornado in Cave City was confirmed by the weather service as an EF-3, with 165 mph winds, just below the threshold for EF-4.

At least three people were killed in central Alabama after severe weather and tornadoes impacted the state, Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement on X Sunday afternoon. Another three deaths were also reported in Amarillo, Texas, after a dust storm caused multiple car crashes, according to KHOU-TV and AccuWeather.

Oklahoma officials said two people were killed due to wildfires and weather in the state. One person died in a vehicle accident caused by smoke, according to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. KFOR-TV reported that a father was killed and his son was severely burned on Friday.

'It looks like a war zone'

A wave of severe storms that spawned tornadoes across Alabama caused power outages, downed trees, and destroyed structures.

On Sunday, residents and authorities began to assess the damage. Ivey confirmed at least three deaths and noted that there were reports of damage in 52 of the state's 67 counties.

John Green found one of the people who died in the storm Saturday, his friend Floyd "Dunk" Pickering. The friends had been enjoying a crawfish boil in the northern Dallas County community of Plantersville before a tornado struck. Green was at his truck across the street when the tornado hit, lifting the truck to the side.

"It's by the grace of God I made it back from the truck to the house," Green said.

In addition to Pickering, Green found two more people pinned beneath debris. One of them was Emily Robertson.

Robertson said the tornado sounded like an explosion. She fell on her bed, and the roof caved in on top of her. The winds then picked up her, the bed, and the roof.

"It looks like a war zone," Robertson said as she surveyed the devastation that used to be her home.

— Marty Roney and Alex Gladden, Montgomery Advertiser

Extreme weather moves across the U.S.

On its journey from the Pacific coast, the wild weather system dumped feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada and spawned a high-end EF-0 tornado in Pico Rivera, California, just east of Los Angeles. Winds of 70 mph to 80 mph overturned vehicles in several states.

The high winds fanned fast-moving wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma, state officials said. In Texas, 13 fires had burned over more than 27,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. One person was reported dead after a pileup in Bovina, Texas.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt declared an emergency for a dozen counties on Saturday, and a statement reported more than 112 injuries.

Tornadoes cause widespread destruction

In Bakersfield, Missouri, the Weather Service survey showed several homes were destroyed and others damaged by the tornado, which ripped through the area around 8:30 on Friday evening, rolling cars up to 100 yards and uprooting numerous trees.

Another tornado traveled more than 13 miles near Glendale Fishery in Daviess County, Indiana, on Friday night, causing “significant damage to farm outbuildings and grain bins,” the weather service said.

Later on Friday night, a tornado near Oregon, Missouri, destroyed two homes and damaged several others, the weather service reported after a storm survey

On Saturday night, a tornado in Calera, Alabama, damaged businesses and homes near I-65, according to the weather service.

Amidst tornadoes, a 3.0 earthquake rumbled Magee, Mississippi on Saturday afternoon, southeast of Jackson.

Did you experience a recent tornado?

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Severe Storms Laboratory are hoping to hear from people who have recently experienced a tornado, as part of an effort to better understand how people receive, understand, and act on forecasts and warnings.

To participate in the brief survey visit Tornado Tales:

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY

(This story was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe weather: Deadly storms, tornadoes push through US states