Severe weather conditions, including tornadoes and powerful storms, swept across the central United States on Saturday, resulting in at least 27 fatalities and numerous injuries, according to official reports. Visuals from local news outlets depicted extensive damage, including homes with roofs ripped off and overturned heavy-duty trucks, while weather forecasters issued warnings of continued tornado threats throughout the weekend.
In Kansas, a multi-vehicle collision involving over 50 vehicles, attributed to reduced visibility during a “severe dust storm,” claimed eight lives, as confirmed by local law enforcement.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported 12 storm-related deaths and shared images of boats piled atop each other at a marina that had been devastated by the weather.
State police also documented widespread damage, including downed trees and power lines, as well as structural damage, with some areas severely impacted by “tornadoes, thunderstorms, and large hail.”
“It was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had; it happened so quickly, our ears felt like they were going to burst,” recounted Alicia Wilson, a Missouri resident who was forced to evacuate her home, to TV station KSDK.
Within Missouri, six deaths were recorded in Wayne County, three in Ozark County—which also reported multiple injuries—and one each in Butler, Jefferson, and St. Louis counties, according to police reports. Further south in Texas, local authorities confirmed to news agencies that four individuals lost their lives in vehicle accidents caused by dust storms and fires that drastically reduced visibility on roadways.
In the neighboring state of Arkansas, officials reported three deaths and 29 injuries due to the storm’s impact. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in response to the severe weather and announced that she had spoken with a US leader. “He asked me to relay to the people of Arkansas that he sends his love, and he and his administration are prepared to provide any necessary assistance following the destructive tornadoes last night,” Sanders stated on X.
As of Saturday evening, over 200,000 homes and businesses across the central United States were without electricity, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us. Weather forecasts indicated that additional tornadoes were possible on Saturday in the central Gulf Coast states, including Mississippi and Tennessee.
“Conditions remain favorable for numerous significant tornadoes, some of which may be long-track and potentially violent, to continue into this evening,” the National Weather Service warned. Tornadoes are rotating columns of air that extend from cumulonimbus thunderstorm clouds to the ground. The central and southern US states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas experience the most violent tornadoes due to specific geographical and meteorological conditions. Referred to as “Tornado Alley,” this region is where winds of varying temperatures converge to create unstable storm clouds, with the majority of storms occurring between May and June. In 2024, the United States recorded 54 deaths related to tornadoes, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
