15 states. Millions of Americans affected. At least 40 dead.
A cross-country storm and a parade of other natural disasters — tornadoes, dust storms, wildfires, and heavy rain — hit the U.S. this weekend. Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia were all affected. The South and Midwest were hit the worst, with at least 12 deaths reported in Missouri, according to local officials, the most of any state.
More than 400 storms were reported across the country, including dozens of tornadoes in seven states, although the National Weather Service (NWS) will have to confirm the final tallies. One tornado in Cave City, Arkansas, even had estimated peak winds of 165 mph, according to the NWS.
Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Texas, and storms brought high winds that intensified more than 100 wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma. At one point, around 108 million Americans were under weather alerts that ranged from wind to flash flooding, and more than 100 million people were without power Sunday.
The damage ranged from ordinary to severe in at least eight states. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said 52 of the state’s 67 counties reported damage from the severe weather barrage. And underscoring the danger for millions of Americans, the NWS labeled tornado watches for Louisiana and Mississippi as creating a “particularly dangerous situation,” a rare designation applied to only about 7% of tornadoes in the U.S.
