On March 31, dozens of tornadoes touched down across several states. The ferocious storms left widespread damage, triggering more than 850 storm reports in at least seven states. Thumbnail Image- Twitter: @StasisChasing
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Friday night was a terrifying night for families up and down America’s heartland as the most active severe weather outbreak this year so far left at least 14 dead and dozens injured. Residents across several states are cleaning up the damage from dozens of tornadoes.
The ferocious storms left widespread damage, triggering more than 850 storm reports in at least seven states. At one point in the evening, the FOX Forecast Center said more than 20 Tornado Warnings were active at once as rare “Particularly Dangerous” Tornado Watches stretched 900 miles from to .
As of Saturday morning, more than 400,000 customers were without power across a dozen states thanks to the severe storms and an . That number grew to about 500,000 as damaging storms .
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The damaged remains of the Walnut Ridge neighborhood is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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A woman evacuates her home after a large tornado damaged hundreds of homes and buildings on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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Homes damaged by a tornado are seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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Homes and buildings damaged by a tornado are seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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The damaged remains of the Walnut Ridge neighborhood is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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The damaged remains of the Walnut Ridge neighborhood is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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A firefighter checks homes for injured residents in the Walnut Ridge neighborhood after a tornado damaged hundreds of homes and building on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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A home damaged by a tornado is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency after the catastrophic storms that hit on Friday afternoon. (Benjamin Krain)
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Emergency responders rest after helping residents evacuate the Calais apartment complex on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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The damaged remains of the Walnut Ridge neighborhood is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency after the catastrophic storms that hit on Friday afternoon. (Benjamin Krain)
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A resident evacuates their neighborhood after a large tornado damaged hundreds of homes and buildings on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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The damaged remains of the Walnut Ridge neighborhood is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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The remains of the Calais Apartment complex damaged by a tornado is seen on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
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A resident inspects the remains of their home on March 31, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and buildings Friday afternoon across a large part of Central Arkansas. (Benjamin Krain)
Homes, businesses ripped apart by tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas
Scenes of destruction could be seen in Little Rock, , on Friday, where a tornado left at least one person dead and injured at least 30 others.
Tornado-warned storm damages vehicles and buildings in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. CDT, a Tornado Emergency was issued for communities around Little Rock. As the twister tore through the city, the National Weather Service offices in Little Rock had to transfer duties to the Memphis office while the meteorologists took shelter.
“There’s well-built homes that are damaged,” storm chaser Brian Emfinger told FOX Weather. “There’s also numerous shopping centers that have been damaged and have roof damage.”
In the wake of the destruction, emergency crews went into search and rescue mode and residents were told to stay away from the area damaged by the tornado.
Drone video shows us our first look at extensive damage in Little Rock from a possible tornado.
Officials at the NWS office in Little Rock gave the tornado a preliminary rating of an EF-3 on the , noting maximum winds of at least 165 mph. That places it on the high end of the rating.
‘I thought I was a goner for sure’
Storm chasers told FOX Weather they were helping pull people from debris in Wynne, Arkansas, following a deadly tornado there. Survivors told stories of fearing for their lives.
“As I got in, huddled up against the cement barrier, every single glass window blew out, and people were blown back,” said Kenneth Bruton, who was out shopping in Little Rock when he had to run for shelter in a store. “And I held on. It must’ve been a minute, just huddled. I thought I was a goner for sure.”
Officials have now confirmed at least four deaths in the town.
Drone video captured significant damage from a large tornado in the town of Wynne, Arkansas. (Brett Adair/LSM)
Photos from the community with a population of more than 8,000 showed trees down on top of homes and damage to the community’s high school.
“I’m in shock right now, but I’m praying everybody’s okay,” one resident told after she came home to find her home destroyed by the twister.
, and it was only around for a brief time. Residents told Nunley they had plenty of advance warning, with sirens sounding more than half an hour before the tornado arrived.
Gov. Sanders signed a state of emergency for the state for the storms and has deployed around 100 Arkansas National Guard members to assist with recovery efforts in some of the hardest-hit areas. There’s also a shelter set up at a local school for victims who’ve lost their homes.
1 dead, multiple injured in theater roof collapse near Chicago
At least one person is dead and 28 have been injured due to a roof collapse during severe storms in Belvidere, Illinois. FOX Weather multimedia journalist Mitti Hicks provides an update.
One person is dead, and 28 people were injured after an EF-1 tornado caused a roof collapse during a concert near Chicago.
It was a chaotic scene inside The Apollo Theatre AC in Belvidere, , as a powerful storm ripped through the area. The bands Revocation, Skeletal Remains and Morbid Angel were set to perform at the venue. The roof reportedly collapsed during the middle of the concert, trapping people under the rubble.
Video from inside the Apollo Theatre in Belividere, Iillinois, shows the chaotic scene after a roof collapsed during a concert amid severe storms in the area.
The National Weather Service said Saturday that the EF-1 tornado was on the ground for nearly 28 miles and had wind speeds of 100 mph.
“Peak winds occurred in Belvidere, which caused the roof of the Apollo Theater to collapse,” NWS Chicago .
3 dead in Indiana tornado
An sheriff said it is abundantly clear that a destructive tornado hit a community leaving three people dead.
“It is far too early to know the extent of the devastation, however we can tell you that there is a line of damage covering several miles, starting west of Sullivan in the rural New Lebanon area, extending eastward through Sullivan,” Sullivan County Sheriff Jason Bobbitt said.
In the city of Sullivan, Bobbitt said homes in both the city and county are severely damaged and some are completely leveled.
“Our worst fears became a reality earlier when we learned that members of our community have lost their lives. No further information is being released on victims at this time,” he said.
Bobbitt said emergency responders and utility workers are still searching for residents and making the scene safe as of Saturday morning.
A state of emergency has been declared for the affected areas. Sullivan City Hall and area churches have been opened up as safe shelters.
Massive tornado spotted moving through an area near Martinsburg, Iowa, on Friday.
Tornado strikes just 100 miles from last week’s deadly Mississippi tornado
Tornadoes also swept through , and .
NWS meteorologists believe a tornado that impacted communities around Ottumwa, Iowa, was an EF-2 or EF-3 based on radar signatures.
The same cell likely produced a large tornado in Martinsburg, Iowa, where a storm chaser captured a photo of a twister moving through the rural community.
Several barns were damaged in the eastern part of the state, but there were no reports of injuries associated with the severe weather in the Hawkeye State.
Photos from Tunica County, Mississippi, showed extensive damage to mobile homes from a likely tornado, but a storm chaser was not aware of any injuries.
The impacted region was more than 100 miles to north and west from where storms .
Thunderstorms moving into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic Saturday could bring damaging wind gusts and an isolated tornado threat.
Storms cause damage in Northeast on Saturday
The potent storm system that caused Friday’s tornado outbreak renewed the threat of severe weather on Saturday. This time, the Northeast was the target.
A , prompting both Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm watches and warnings in the region. There were several reports of damaging winds, and a few tornadoes were also reported.
A twister appears to be the cause of damage in southwest Delaware. Images of downed trees, mangled cars and at least one crushed home circulated on social media after a .
No serious injuries have been reported.
Damage is seen just north of Bridgeville, Delaware, after a severe thunderstorm ripped through the area April 1, 2023.
(Roo Parag/Facebook / FOX Weather)