A series of tornadoes struck the US midwest and southeast overnight, killing at least 14 people in Arkansas and Missouri and leaving a path of wreckage that authorities were still assessing, reports RTE.
According to David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s (NWS) weather prediction centre, a low-pressure system pushed strong thunderstorms across portions of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri late last night and early this morning, resulting in 26 tornadoes that were reported but not confirmed to have touched down.
“Today there is a high risk for more tornadoes across Alabama and Mississippi. The chance is 30%,” he said. “That’s pretty significant,” Mr Roth added, reports RTE.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other officials, a third tornado death was recorded in Butler County, while two others happened in southern Missouri in the Bakersfield region of Ozark County, some 434 km southeast of Kansas City.
Without providing specifics, the Missouri Highway Patrol posted on X, previously Twitter, that eight more people had died in the storms, reports RTE.
Arkansas’s Department of Emergency Management said on its website that 29 people were injured and that three more people died as a result of the nighttime storms.
Forecasters cautioned that tonight is the most likely time for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms when the storms recover their intensity, reports RTE.
The NWS issued its highest level tornado alert, a level five, for portions of Alabama and Mississippi this afternoon.
More than 500 houses, a church, and a grocery store were damaged in the Missouri county, according to Robbie Myers, director of Butler County Emergency Management, reports RTE.
“Totally destroyed” was another statement he made about a mobile home park.
According to the NWS, the storms will advance eastward throughout the day and may reach as far east as Florida and Atlanta by nightfall, reports RTE.
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