Photo: National Weather Service
At least 16 people have died as severe storms have hit the South and Midwest regions of the United States on Saturday (March 15), NBC News reports.
An estimated 138 million Americans are reportedly at risk of severe weather as tornado warnings have already been issued in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana and Kentucky. At least 10 deaths were reported in the state of Missouri alone, while three others were reported in Arkansas and three more in Amarillo, Texas.
More than 300,000 residents in the Midwest and South were reported to be without power as of Saturday morning, according to NBC News. Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, told the Associated Press that such severe storms are uncommon in March.
“What’s unique about this one is its large size and intensity,” Bunting said. “And so what that is doing is producing really substantial impacts over a very large area.”
Wind gusts reaching up to 80 MPH were predicted to stretch from the U.S.-Canada border down to Texas with blizzard conditions possible in colder northern states and the risk of wildfires in the drier southern areas.
“This is terrible out here,” said Charles Daniel, a truck driver traveling along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma, via the AP. “There’s a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I’m not pushing it over 55 mph. I’m scared it will blow over if I do.”
