Tornadoes, wildfires and blinding dust sweep across US as massive storm leaves at least 35 dead

PIEDMONT, Mo. (AP) — Residents pounded by unusually vicious weather across parts of the U.S. surveyed damage Sunday from violent tornadoes, high winds and blinding dust storms that decimated homes and other structures and left at least 35 people dead.

National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Snell said tornado watches remained in effect Sunday morning for portions of the Carolinas, east Georgia and northern Florida. He said the main threat would be damaging winds, but there is the possibility of more tornadoes.

“As we go through the day today, there still is the potential for severe weather from, say, the upper Ohio Valley and western Pennsylvania down through the rest of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast as we have this cold front that’s still moving across the country, and it won’t clear the East Coast until later on tonight,” Snell said.

The dynamic storm from Friday through Sunday earned an unusual “high risk” designation from weather forecasters. Still, experts said it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.

Death toll in Alabama climbs to three

At least three people were killed in central Alabama when multiple tornados swept across the state. Among those killed was an 82-year-old woman who was in a manufactured home that was destroyed by a twister, Dallas County Sheriff Michael L. Granthum said Sunday.

In Troy, Alabama, parks officials said the recreation center where over 200 people had taken shelter would be closed due to damage from overnight storms. No one was injured.

“The Recreation Center has significant damage throughout the building,” the Parks Department said. “We are thankful the Lord provided protection over our community, and over 200 guests at the Recreation Center storm shelter on Saturday night.”

Fatalities from twisters in battered Missouri reach 12

Missouri resident Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing trapped neighbors found five bodies scattered in the debris Friday night outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County. Scattered twisters killed at least a dozen people in the state, authorities said.

“It was a very rough deal last night,” Henderson said Saturday, not far from the splintered home he said they rescued his aunt from through a window of the only room left standing. “It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night.”

Authorities were still sifting through massive tornado damage.

On Saturday, Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County described the “unrecognizable home” where one man was killed as “just a debris field.”

“The floor was upside down,” he said. “We were walking on walls.”

Six deaths in Mississippi; three die in Arkansas

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that six people died in three counties and three more were missing late Saturday.

One of the deaths occurred in Covington County, where Seminary resident Traci Ladner said she watched a tornado knock down trees and power lines and destroy a house Saturday as she drove home from Ward’s Restaurant.

The twister touched down briefly, traveled over Highway 49 and then went back up before making another quick descent, she said.

“I was crying. My legs were shaking. It was pretty scary,” she said. “We were lucky that it picked back up.”

Bailey Dillon, 24, and her fiance, Caleb Barnes, watched from their front porch in Tylertown as a massive twister struck an area about half a mile (0.8 kilometer) away near Paradise Ranch RV Park.

They drove over afterward to see if anyone needed help and recorded video of snapped trees, leveled buildings and overturned vehicles.

“The amount of damage was catastrophic,” Dillon said. “It was a large amount of cabins, RVs, campers that were just flipped over. Everything was destroyed.”

Paradise Ranch said via Facebook that all staff and guests were safe and accounted for, but Dillon said the damage extended beyond the RV park itself.

“Homes and everything were destroyed all around it,” she said. “Schools and buildings are just completely gone.”

In Arkansas, officials confirmed three deaths.

Dust storms cause 11 deaths in Kansas and Texas; Oklahoma faces wildfires

Dust storms spurred by the storm system’s early high winds claimed almost a dozen lives on Friday. Eight people died in a Kansas highway pileup involving at least 50 vehicles, according to the state highway patrol. Authorities said three people also were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle.

More than 130 fires were reported across Oklahoma and nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Saturday.

Some images from the extreme weather went viral online

Tad Peters and his father, Richard Peters, had pulled over to fuel up their pickup truck in Rolla, Missouri, on Friday night when they heard tornado sirens and saw other motorists fleeing the interstate to park.

“Whoa, is this coming? Oh, it’s here. It’s here,” Tad Peters can be heard saying on a video. “Look at all that debris. Ohhh. My God, we are in a torn …”

His father then rolled up the window.

The two were headed to Indiana for a weightlifting competition but decided to return home to Norman, Oklahoma, about six hours away, where they then encountered wildfire.
___
Walker reported from New York and Reynolds reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey, Jeff Roberson in Wayne County, Missouri, Gene Johnson in Seattle and Janie Har in San Francisco contributed.