Pennsylvania, New York and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states are still under National Weather Service watches for damaging winds and tornadoes, as the death toll from weekend storms across six states has risen to 36.
In a White House statement, President Donald Trump said he was monitoring the tornadoes and storms, adding that “36 innocent lives have been lost and many more have been destroyed.”
Trump announced that National Guard troops had been deployed to Arkansas and pledged to assist state and local officials.
The storms, which hit the South and Midwest, moved eastward on Sunday. More than 340,000 customers in affected areas were without power as of Sunday afternoon, according to the PowerOutage website.
Missouri had the highest number of deaths, with 12 deaths spread across five counties, according to the state Highway Patrol. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said one person was still missing in the state, and widespread damage was reported across 27 counties.
Robbie Myers, emergency management director for Butler County, Missouri, told reporters that more than 500 homes, a church and a grocery store in the county had been destroyed. A mobile home park was “completely destroyed,” he said.
“Everything around here is really bad,” Missouri resident Rick Brittingham told Reuters in Butler County. “There have been deaths in the trailer park up the street. So, I mean, we have nothing compared to anything like that. I still have a house. They don’t have a house.”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves posted on X that six deaths had been reported in the state — one in Covington County, two in Jefferson Davis County and three in Waltham County.
Initial estimates show 29 people were injured statewide and 21 counties had storm damage, Reeves said.
In Arkansas, the state Department of Emergency Management said three deaths had occurred and 32 injuries had been reported.
Eight deaths were confirmed in a crash involving more than 50 cars in Sherman County, Kansas, caused by a severe dust storm, the Kansas Highway Patrol said in a statement. Many of the injured travelers were taken to local hospitals.
At least two people have died in Alabama due to severe weather, Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement on X. “We have reports of damage in 52 of our 67 counties,” the governor said.
Three deaths were reported from tornadoes near Amarillo, Texas, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
Thirty-nine tornadoes were reported from Friday through midnight Sunday, but the number has not yet been confirmed, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
