Live updates: 36 dead as severe storms head east

Videos and photos shared by the Issaquena County, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency showed multiple destroyed homes and damaged businesses in Grace, a community in the county.

Storm damage in Grace, Miss. on March 15.Mississippi Emergency Management Agency

A fire station in the community sustained major damage, while three farm shops were also damaged significantly.

Storm damage in Grace, Miss. on March 15.Mississippi Emergency Management Agency

No injuries have been reported in the area, according to the agency.

According to preliminary reports, at least 557 storms were reported on Friday and 135 were reported yesterday.

At least 32 of Friday’s storms and 34 of Saturday’s storms were tornadoes, per reports.

A total of 40 million are at risk of severe weather from Florida to western New York today as the threat from storms has shifted towards the East Coast.

Cities in the risk zone include Pittsburgh and Erie in Pennsylvania; Jacksonville, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; and Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina. The strongest storms will target parts of western Pennsylvania.

The severe weather threat will gradually diminish this evening as the line approaches the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Showers will linger for some in New England early tomorrow morning as the storm system pushes offshore. 

At least three tornadoes were confirmed to have hit Missouri on Friday, according to the National Weather Service field office in St. Louis.

“An EF-2 in Jefferson County from Hillsboro to Arnold,” the weather service said. “An EF-2 near Villa Ridge and an EF-1 south of Union in Franklin County.”

The Enhanced Fujita Scale is a system used to rate tornadoes based on wind speeds. EF2 tornadoes have 111 to 135 mph winds, while EF1 tornadoes have 86 to 110 mph winds.

“We will continue surveying other areas in Missouri and Illinois tomorrow and Monday,” the weather service said.

The death toll from two days of storms that have bombarded parts of the South and the Midwest has now risen to 36.

The majority of the deaths, 12, were in Missouri, mostly in Wayne County. Eight deaths were reported in Kansas after a 50-vehicle collision during a “severe dust storm,” and six deaths were reported in Mississippi following multiple reported tornadoes.

In Texas, multiple vehicle accidents caused by high winds and low visibility killed four people. Three were killed in Independence County, Arkansas, officials said.

Two people were killed in Alabama and and one person was killed in Oklahoma.

Several states throughout the U.S. were left with significant damages after deadly storms and tornadoes destroyed multiple homes and tore through buildings over the last two days.

Storms have downed trees and blown roofs off of buildings across the South and Midwest, including in Missouri, Illinois and Alabama.

Two people have been killed by the severe weather that impacted Alabama, according to Gov. Kay Ivey.

The victims died in central Alabama, one in Plantersville, and another in Winterboro, Ivey said in a statement. No additional details were shared.

“We pray for those lives we lost, as well as those who were injured,” Ivey said.

Ivey also said that damage resulting from the severe weather has been reported in 52 of Alabama’s 67 counties.

“Our damage assessment continues,” Ivey said.

Almost 200,000 utility customers were without power across the South and Midwest this morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

The majority of the outages are in Missouri, with 60,000 in the dark, followed by 40,000 in Georgia. In North Carolina, there are 36,000 utility customers without power.

Michigan has more than 35,000 utility customers without power, and Alabama about 22,000.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., shared a post on X about the storms impacting the South and Midwest for the past two days.

“Our prayers are with all those who are affected and with the families mourning their tragic losses,” Johnson wrote.

The storm system moving through Florida is heading east, according to the National Weather Service.

“Be ready to take shelter if a warning is issued,” the weather service said on X.

A Tornado watch in north Florida has expanded to Dixie and Lafayette counties.

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