At least three people are dead after severe weather hit Butler County and Ozark County, Missouri, on Friday night, officials said.
Almost 300,000 customers are already without power across five states — Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Arkansas, according to Poweroutage.us.
Millions of Americans across the country are on alert for severe weather with tornado watches in effect for eight states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.
A new tornado watch has been issued for the south that is in effect until 1 p.m. CT — including Alexandria, Louisiana; Shreveport, Louisiana; Greenville, South Carolina; and Tupelo, Mississippi.
Violent, long-track tornadoes are possible — a couple could be intense — along with damaging gusts of up to 75 mph and scattered large hail.
A Tornado Watch from Louisville to Indianapolis is in effect until 10 a.m.
Emergency management is working through the damage Saturday morning, but Robert Myers with the Butler County Emergency Management Agency said daylight will give them a better idea of the amount of destruction.
The Black River Coliseum has been opened as shelter and Myers said that there are people with injuries in nearby hospitals but did not have an exact number.
There is a rare high risk warning issued for violent tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday afternoon and into the evening.
So far there have been 23 reported tornadoes overnight across four states – Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi as the severe weather outbreak continues into Saturday. Winds gusted up more than 80 mph causing damage in the Midwest from Missouri to Wisconsin.
The Storm Prediction Center said that numerous significant tornadoes, some of which could be long-track and potentially violent, are expected and cities in the high risk areas include Hattiesburg, Jackson, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
The most dangerous tornado threat should begin Saturday during the late morning to early afternoon hours in Louisiana and Mississippi before spreading into Alabama late afternoon into the evening, followed by the western Florida panhandle and into western Georgia through late Saturday night.
The severe storms are expected to be weaker on Sunday as the storms reach the East Coast from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic.
Damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes on Sunday afternoon will be possible for the Southeast, while heavy rain and damaging wind threat will reach the Northeast Sunday evening into the overnight.
The severe weather outbreak is all part of a major cross-country storm system that is also prompting fire danger and red flag warnings across the Plains.
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