At least 42 fatalities have been confirmed in the Mar. 14th storm. The storm’s deadly path included three deaths in Alabama, four in Oklahoma, eight in Kansas, six in Mississippi, 12 in Missouri, two in North Carolina, three in Arkansas, and four in Texas.
Officials reports from the National Weather Service stated that at least 19 tornadoes hit the state of Missouri. The eastern to southeastern part of Missouri took the biggest hit from the tornadoes. The twisters left widespread destruction across 27 Missouri counties. Hundreds of homes, schools, and businesses were left in rubble.
Cade Foster, a sophomore at Eaton High School, said, “These families are going to have to deal with the loss of their family members and homes. They have sentimental items in their homes that they’re never going to get back. I can’t even imagine losing my entire house.”
The national weather service issued tornadoes from sizes of EF-1 to EF-3. A tornado is issued an EF, due to the amount of damage caused by the tornado. In Arkansas, officials reported three deaths and 29 injured due to the tornadoes. In Arkansas, two EF-4 tornadoes— the first of their kind to hit the state since 1997— claimed three lives and injured 29 others. Both tornadoes reached wind speeds up to 190-mph.
Powerful winds in Texas and Kansas whipped dust storms that resulted in multiple vehicle pile-ups and a dozen deaths. These dust storms, which were classified as whiteout conditions, led to tragic accidents.
In Kansas, at least eight people are dead after a 71-vehicle pile-up near Goodland on Mar. 14th. In Texas, another dust storm caused a pile-up of about 38 cars, leaving at least four dead.
Extreme winds have fanned out nearly 150 deadly wildfires in Oklahoma. Winds reached up to 83 mph (133 km/h). The state’s chief medical examiner said at least four people died as a result of the fires or high winds. The fires burnt 170,000 acres and destroyed nearly 300 structures.
Parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina were under flood advisories.
Northern New York and parts of New England are also under flood watches due to heavy rainfall and snowmelt. A state of emergency has been declared in Arkansas, Georgia, and Oklahoma, while New York and Pennsylvania experienced hurricane-force wind gusts, with Pennsylvania recording gusts up to 89 mph and Ohio experiencing winds of 76 mph.
The storm’s aftermath has led to significant power outages, with over 120,000 people across multiple states left without electricity on Mar. 17th. The hardest-hit areas include Pennsylvania with over 56,000 outages, Missouri with more than 25,000, New York with over 23,000, West Virginia with over 8,000, and North Carolina with over 7,800.
While many are still dealing with the effects of the storms, many are still preparing for more.
