Tornadoes kill 14 people in Missouri

ATLANTA:At least 14 people were dead and dozens injured after violent tornadoes swept across the central United States, officials said Saturday.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed 11 “storm-related fatalities” in a statement on X. In neighboring Arkansas, officials said three people had died.Twenty-six tornadoes were reported but not confirmed to have touched down late on Friday night and early on Saturday as a low pressure system drove powerful thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri, said David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

“Today there is a high risk for more tornadoes across Alabama and Mississippi. The chance is 30%,” he said. “That’s pretty significant.”

Two of the tornado deaths occurred in southern Missouri in the Bakersfield area of Ozark County, about 270 miles (434 km) southeast of Kansas City, and a third death was reported in Butler County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other officials said.

Seven others were killed in the storms, the Missouri Highway Patrol said on X, without giving details.

As the storms regain strength, the highest possible risk of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms is on Saturday night, forecasters said.

The storms will move east throughout the day on Saturday and could hit as far east as the Florida Panhandle and Atlanta by midnight, according to the NWS.