Following scores of tornadoes, strong winds, and dust storms that swept over the United States on Friday and Saturday, at least 30 persons were confirmed dead.
According to the National Weather Service on Saturday, at least three people were killed Friday night when an EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 140 mph tore through Bakersfield, and there were other reports of fatalities in Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a warning that the possibility of severe weather will persist through Sunday, extending from Florida northward into the upper Ohio River Valley. On Sunday, about 60 million Americans are in danger.
North Florida and southeast Georgia are under a tornado watch through 3 p.m., while South Carolina and southeast North Carolina are under one until 2 p.m. Additionally, the center stated that the extreme southwestern region of New York and western Pennsylvania were at “enhanced” danger of severe weather.
Following Friday, the Storm Prediction Center recorded 56 preliminary tornado reports in seven states, with over 20 in Mississippi and 13 in Missouri. Survey workers will be dispatched by the weather service to verify the overall number of tornadoes.
A tornado-warned storm neared the weather service headquarters in Birmingham early Saturday evening, forcing the crew to take cover in their “safe room,” according to a post on X.
