The death toll rose to 32 Sunday after a batch of ferocious storms and tornadoes devastated communities across the American South and Midwest, while parts of the Southern Plains braced for their own round of severe weather.
The storm outbreak Friday that walloped the country spawned more than 50 tornado reports in at least seven states, where tornadoes crushed homes and businesses, ripped roofs off buildings, splintered trees and sent vehicles flying.
Wynne, Arkansas – where at least four people died – was cleaved in half by one such tornado, leaving a line of destruction from the city’s western limit to its eastern, according to Mayor Jennifer Hobbs, who told CNN Sunday, “We’re just gonna need all the help that we can (get) to help these families recover.” About 100 miles southwest, another person died in North Little Rock.
Deaths have been confirmed across a wide swath of states, with multiple victims in Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee, where the statewide death toll rose to 15 Sunday, officials said. Three of the deaths were in Memphis: Two children and one adult were found dead after police responded to calls about trees that had fallen on homes, the Memphis Police Department said in a news release.
Nine others died in McNairy County, Tennessee, County Mayor Larry Smith confirmed to CNN Sunday. The storm “crossed our county completely from one side to the other,” Sheriff Guy Buck told CNN Saturday evening as authorities continued to search collapsed buildings.
There were at least five deaths in Indiana and four people killed in Illinois, including one person who died after the roof of the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere collapsed Friday while more than 200 people were gathered for a heavy metal concert. State and local officials also reported one death in Alabama, Mississippi and Delaware.
The latest spate of damaging weather across the South and Midwest comes just a week after a severe tornado-spawning storm walloped the Southeast, killing at least another 26 people and destroying much of Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
On Sunday, the threat shifted to the Southern Plains, where nearly 13 million people in north Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, face an enhanced – or level 3 of 5 – risk for severe weather in the afternoon and early evening hours, the Storm Prediction Center said.
The Dallas Office of Emergency Management activated its sirens for the city “due to large hail” as flights were grounded at Dallas airports, according to officials.
Both the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport issued ground stops as severe weather rolled into Texas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Flights were temporarily grounded but have since resumed, the FAA said.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Oklahoma and Texas until 11 pm CDT. There are over 10 million people included in the watch, including areas like Dallas, Forth Worth and Waco.
“Several tornadoes are possible, a couple of which may be strong,” the center said in an update Sunday, adding there was a 10 percent or greater probability of tornadoes between EF-2 and EF-5 strength within 25 miles around the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected across central to northeast Texas between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. CT, the Storm Prediction Center said. Hail the size of golf balls and damaging wind gusts of up to 70 mph could also pose a threat.
The second tornado watch of the day was issued for parts of northern Louisiana and northeast Texas and will last until 1 a.m. CDT. The watch includes areas like Tyler, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana.
Source: CNN
BDST: 1112 HRS, APR 03, 2023
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