On Friday, the vast storm system across the United States destroyed fatal collisions, damaged buildings in several central states, instigated more than 100 wildfires and prompted evacuation orders in some communities.
Almost half a dozen tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, and on Saturday the threat looming over the Mississippi Valley and deep south.
The National Weather Service warned of extreme weather beyond the vast stripes of the country, where over 100 million people live.
Strong winds up to 80 mph from the Canadian border to Texas was predicted.
Three people were killed Friday in a car accident caused by a sandstorm in the Texas Panhandle, according to Sergeant. Cindy Barkley of the state Department of Public Safety.
“It was a nightmare here,” Berkley said, adding that it was difficult to assess many crashes due to the near-zero vision.
In Oklahoma, Andy James, the fire chief of Oklahoma Forestry Services, told CocoTV that nearly 150 fires have been reported.
The state's patrol said on social platform X that the wind has defeated several tractor trailers.
“This is terrible here,” said Charles Daniel, the truck driver who carries a 48-foot trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma, about the strong winds. “There's a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I haven't pushed it over 55 miles. If so, I'm scared to be blown away.”
Forecasts said there is a high possibility of tornadoes and wind damage Saturday in Mississippi and Alabama, with the threat of heavy storms continuing over the weekend.
Heavy rain could cause flash floods on parts of the east coast on Sunday.
Experts say it's not uncommon to see such weather in March.
“Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma,” said Bill Bunting of Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. “So what it's doing is having a huge impact on a very large area.”
The tornado collided amidst the storm
The National Weather Service said at least five tornadoes have been reported in Missouri.
“This is a life-threatening situation. Find a shelter now!” the agency warned about X.
The Storm Prediction Center said that rapidly moving storms could produce twisters as big as baseball, but the biggest threat arises from linear winds near or beyond the force of a hurricane, with gusts possible at 100 mph.
Tornado Watches were issued until 11pm in Central and Eastern Missouri, including St. Louis and parts of Illinois and Arkansas.
Other areas at risk include Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of Mississippi.
Around 47 million people faced the threat of an intensified, intense storm, from Madison, Wisconsin to Birmingham, Alabama.
Forecasters were increasingly worried that a severe thunderstorm in the south would likely pose an even bigger tornado threat on Saturday.
The Storm Prediction Center said there is a high risk in parts of Mississippi, including Jackson and Hattiesburg, and areas in Alabama, including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee and the West Florida Panhandle also offer severe storms and tornadoes.
“We are confident that there is a high chance that a tornado will occur tomorrow,” Evan Bentley, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center, said in an online briefing.
Several buildings that the storm landed Friday afternoon, including a strip mall in Laura, Missouri, were damaged by the storm.
Wildfires break in dry gusts of wind
The Southern Plains wildfires were threatened to spread rapidly amidst warm, dry weather and strong winds, and evacuated to some communities in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
The flames in Roberts County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, exploded from less than a square mile to an estimated 32.8 square mile, the Texas A&M University Forest Service said in X.
The crew stopped moving forward by the evening.
About 60 miles to the south, another fire grew to about 3.9 square miles before moving forward in the afternoon.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management has revitalized the emergency business centre due to several fast fires that urged evacuation of the town of Leede in the western part of the state and rural areas east of Norman.
Firefighters were prepositioned in certain areas, which helps authorities jump into the flames early, James said.
Fire aircraft were also deployed in some areas of Oklahoma and Texas, but he added that it was unable to fly due to low visibility from smoke and dust, generally.
In the evening, the National Weather Service said the “very dangerous fire complex” was located northeast of Oklahoma City near Stillwater, urging some people in the city, about 50,000 people to evacuate.
Authorities issued forced evacuation orders via social media, including homes, hotels and Walmart.
Jennifer Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman, described fire conditions in the central and northern parts of the state as historical and extremely unusual.
About 120 miles of interstate highway in western Kansas was closed due to dust and limited visibility, while roads east of the state were closed amidst wildfires and smoke.
A sandstorm in Amarillo County, Texas, caused a crash that included an estimated 38 cars.
“This is the worst I've ever seen,” Berkley said. “We couldn't say they were all together until the dust settled down.”
Officials have urged people in some areas of Camden County in central Missouri to evacuate due to wildfires, warning that the state's highway patrol has been approaching homes and businesses via social media.
The strong winds have also knocked out over 216,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to the website Poweroutage.us.
Blizzard warning on the Northern Plains
The National Weather Service issued a snowstorm warning early Saturday in western Minnesota and parts of South Dakota's Far East. Accumulation of 3-6 inches of snow was expected, and up to 1 foot was possible.
The wind plunging into 60 mph was expected to cause white conditions.
Combined with light glaze pills, travel in the area could be dangerous on the day, the weather department said.
