What to know
- At least 34 people have died across Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mississippi as powerful storm systems swept through the Midwest and South.
- The storms have left hundreds of thousands of customers without power, injured 29 people in Arkansas and caused fatalities linked to wildfires in Oklahoma.
- Nearly 9 million people are under tornado watches, including in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Another 82.8 million are covered by wind advisories, particularly in the middle of the country.
- The severe weather threats are moving eastward overnight, with Georgia bracing for heavy rainfall, flash floods, damaging wind gusts and quickly developing tornadoes.
Texas fire 40% contained, says forest service
The Crabapple Fire in Gillespie County in central Texas, covering an estimated 8,640 acres, is now 40% contained, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.
High winds blowing through the southern U.S. this weekend have caused thousands of acres of wildfires in the state.
The Crabapple Fire is the second largest in Texas after the Windmill Fire in Roberts County in the north, which covers 23,000 acres and is 65% contained, the service said earlier.
Red flag warnings — which signal critical fire weather conditions — are currently in place over large parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota.
Footage captures destruction as storm hits Georgia
Video posted by NBC News’ Georgia affiliate WXIA showed the metal awning of a gas station flipped over by heavy winds on the Villa Rica Highway.
The legs of the awning, normally anchored into the ground, were hoisted into the sky and toppled upside down on top of the building.
Nearby, power lines and trees had fallen across the road, with emergency vehicles in attendance as staff tried to cut through the debris with chain saws.
A number of roadways in the area are shutdown.
Strong storms entering west-central Georgia as power outages rise
Strong storms capable of producing damaging wind gusts and tornadoes have entered west-central Georgia, according to the National Weather Service.
It said repeated rounds of heavy rainfall could lead to an increased chance of flash flooding.
Power outages across the region have risen as the storm moves east.
More than 76,000 people are suffering power outages in Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us. Tennessee has 53,148 and Mississippi has 37,705.
March 15 rainfall breaks 150-year record in Nashville
Nashville recorded 3.57 inches of rain yesterday, according to the National Weather Service, breaking the old record of 2.55 inches, which was set in 1875.
More than 16,000 people are without power in Tennessee after the deadly storm moved over the state.
Photos and videos show extensive damage in northeastern Arkansas
Videos and photos posted on social media show extensive damage in Cave City, Arkansas, where a storm surveying team found damage consistent with an EF3 tornado.
In one photo, part of a church's roof appears to have been destroyed. A video shows debris, including wood from structures, strewn around parts of the city.
Drone video of Cave City shows damage to multiple homes and businesses from a bird's-eye view.
Another tornado touches down in Alabama as NWS workers take shelter
Another tornado struck eastern Alabama this morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, which posted a picture of employees taking shelter.
The twister touched down just northwest of the town of Cusseta, in Chambers County, and was heading toward Huguley — a census-designated place — and the city of Lanett, the weather service said on X shortly after 12 a.m. local time.
The tornado was confirmed via radar, it said.
In another post a few minutes later, the Birmingham office posted a photo of workers taking cover.
"Our staff took shelter when a tornado-warned storm was approaching our office. (Our break room is our safe room.)," the post read.
More than 185,000 customers without power in 6 states affected by extreme weather
More than 185,000 utility customers were without power tonight in six states affected by the late-winter weather front that fanned flames and produced powerful tornadoes this weekend.
Missouri, the location of multiple tornadoes Friday night into Saturday morning, had the most customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us, at 68,798.
Alabama had 51,393; Georgia, 26,667; Tennessee, 16,451; Illinois, 10,074; and Mississippi, 12,248.
"Crews are currently working to restore power as quickly as possible," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference earlier in the day.
Why confirming tornadoes takes time
While dozens of tornadoes have been reported over the weekend as this deadly storm moves over Alabama and Tennessee today, few have been officially confirmed.
The tornado that struck Cave City, Arkansas, was verified by National Weather Service spotters on the ground, who estimated it reached EF3 strength last night, indicating it produced sustained winds between 136 and 165 mph.
The National Weather Service office for Little Rock, Arkansas, said it has fielded inquiries asking why it's taking so long to verify other tornadoes as some wonder if their communities have been forgotten.
The answer: "Storm surveys take time."
The weather service deploys tornado observers on the ground, often on a next-day basis, as their safety amid atmospheric upheaval and its aftermath is an important consideration.
The service trains them via "storm spotter training" courses before sending them to communities where tornadoes have been reported. An introductory course takes two hours.
Spotters measure the length and width of a damage path and note specific examples of destruction, such as felled branches, uprooted trees, blown-out windows and flattened structures, which can indicate a tornado's strength on the National Weather Service's Enhanced Fujita Scale, the weather service said.
These eyes and ears on the ground are then tasked with writing a summary that includes GPS locations and estimations of damage and strength, which may require consultation with weather service experts, according to the agency.
Here's an example of a survey summary — a report usually produced for every tornado analyzed on the ground.
Reports for the cluster of tornadoes this weekend won't be instant, the Little Rock weather service office said today, asking for patience.
"Rest assured we will get to you," it said.
5 additional storm-related deaths reported in Mississippi
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves today reported five additional weather-related deaths, bringing the total number of weather-blamed fatalities in the state to six and the storm total across six states to 34.
The Mississippi fatalities included two in Jefferson Davis County and three in Walthall County, the governor said in a statement on Saturday night. Another weather-related death in the state was reported in Covington County.
He also said three more people, including two from Covington County and one from Walthall County, are believed missing. Twenty-nine people sustained weather-related injuries across the state, the governor said.
Reeves declared a state of emergency for all areas of the state affected by the tornado-producing storm front as is moved east today. The move will allow state government agencies to "discharge their emergency responsibilities," according to the governor's proclamation.
He said storm damage was reported in 21 counties since Friday.
"Please pray for those who lost their life, those who are missing and those leading the search efforts, those who are healing, and their families," Reeves said.
National Weather Service confirms 3 tornadoes in St. Louis area
The National Weather Service office that covers St. Louis and surrounding communities said today it has confirmed three of the multiple tornadoes reported in the region overnight.
A tornado that struck Jefferson County southwest of St. Louis and spun from Hillsboro to Arnold was determined to have EF2 strength on a 1-5 scale used by federal forecasters, the weather service office based in St. Charles said on X.
That would mean it produced sustained winds between 111 and 135 mph.
A second one near Villa Ridge, a small community about 43 miles west of St. Louis, was also determined to have struck at EF2 strength, it said.
A third south of Union, a small city about 50 miles west of St. Louis, was estimated to strike at EF1 strength, the weather service said. That level is defined by sustained winds of 86 to 110 mph.
"We will continue surveying other areas in Missouri and Illinois tomorrow and Monday," it said.