Deadly storm pummels central and southern US
At least 26 people have been killed.
Tornadoes have ripped through parts of the US as part of a monster storm that killed at least 26 people – with more severe weather on the way, experts said.
The death toll rose after Kansas Highway Patrol said on Saturday that eight people had died after a dust storm caused at least 50 vehicles to crash on an interstate road in Sherman County.
Missouri recorded more fatalities than any other US state as it withstood scattered twisters overnight that killed at least 12 people, authorities said.
The deaths included a man who was killed after a tornado ripped apart his home.
Describing the scene that confronted rescuers, Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County said: “It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field.
“The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Officials in Arkansas said three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured across eight counties as storms passed through the state.
Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on X: “We have teams out surveying the damage from last night’s tornadoes and have first responders on the ground to assist.”
She and Georgia governor Brian Kemp declared states of emergency. Mr Kemp said he was making the declaration in anticipation of severe weather moving in later on Saturday.
On Friday, meanwhile, authorities said three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
The deaths came as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.
Extreme weather conditions were forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80mph were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.
The US National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of far western Minnesota and far eastern South Dakota starting early on Saturday. Snow accumulations of 3-6in were expected, with up to a foot possible.
Winds gusting to 60mph were expected to cause whiteout conditions.
The Storm Prediction Centre said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs on Saturday, but the greatest threat would come from winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100mph possible.
Significant tornadoes continued to strike on Saturday. The regions at highest risk stretch from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi through Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle, forecasters said.
