Updated March 15, 2025 at 18:35 PM ET
A deadly weather system that's already struck large stretches of the southern U.S. with thunderstorms, tornadoes and blinding dust storms is expected to bring more destruction as it rips through the Deep South, forecasters said.
The severe weather has killed at least 17 people, with hundreds of homes damaged.
A tornado outbreak was ongoing across central Gulf Coast states and into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said. Twisters were forecast to pose the most dangerous risk in eastern Louisiana and Mississippi, spreading across Alabama into the evening. At night, the storm was projected to reach western parts of the Florida Panhandle and Georgia.
The center said there would be "numerous significant tornadoes, some of which should be long-track and potentially violent," across the region.
The Storm Prediction Center warned of a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" — an alert the NWS issues to signal urgent, more extreme events — regarding the expected tornadoes. Tornado watches were in effect for much of Mississippi and northern Louisiana on Saturday, as well as portions of Alabama and southeast Mississippi.
Very large hail — some reaching 2.5 inches in diameter — and damaging winds were likely across the region, forecasters said Saturday afternoon.
Missouri had seen the most casualties as of Saturday afternoon. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said 11 people died across four counties.
As many as 19 tornadoes may have passed through the state, said Gov. Mike Kehoe's office. Gusts and flying debris powered brush fires that contributed to widespread property damage.
"There's more substantial damage from this [storm] than I've seen in my career," said Michelle Ryan, director of St. Louis County's Office of Emergency Management, during a Saturday morning briefing.
In Arkansas, officials reported that three people died and 29 others were injured following overnight storms.
"We have teams out surveying the damage from last night's tornadoes and have first responders on the ground to assist," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on social media. "In the meantime, I just released $250,000 from our Disaster Recovery fund to provide resources for this operation for each of the impacted communities."
Wildfires in Oklahoma and Texas
On Friday, meanwhile, hurricane force winds hit Texas and Oklahoma, sparking deadly fires and dust storms. In the Texas Panhandle, where wind gusts topped 80 mph, authorities said three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, The Associated Press reported.
Oklahomans spent Saturday surveying fire damage, after officials there reported more than 130 blazes across 44 counties. Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a morning press conference that more than 170,000 acres burned and 293 homes and buildings were damaged. Stitt reported one death related to wildfire smoke, and credited the low death toll to the success of evacuation alerts.
As of late Saturday afternoon, more than 230,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark after high winds knocked out power in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, according Poweroutage.us.
In preparation for the looming storm in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency.
"This storm will hit at the worst possible time, as people are heading to or already in bed. Be prepared ahead of time and remain weather aware as long as this system is in the state," he said in a Saturday afternoon post on social media.
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