The Associated State of Miss., where 21 killed in a tornado last Friday, and related areas of Little Rock, Illinois, are at a Level 3 of 5

Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis and Madison, Wisconsin are in areas with a Level 3 of 5 for severe storms. Large hail, tornadoes and damaging winds are the main threats.

“Residents are advised to remain weather-aware and have multiple ways to receive weather alerts,” the Weather Prediction Center said. “Along with the severe weather threat, storms may also contain intense rainfall rates that could last long enough to produce isolated-to-scattered areas of flash flooding.”

At least 21 people were killed when a tornado ravaged the state of Mississippi last Friday. Dozens were injured, and entire blocks were flattened as the tornado rampaged through the state. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said that about 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Louisville are included in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, which have a slightly increased risk of severe storms.

The twister tore first through neighborhoods in west Little Rock, and shredded a small shopping center that included a Kroger grocery store. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock was operating at a mass casualty level, spokesperson Leslie Taylor said. There were people who had already arrived at the medical center.

Little Rock Arkansas As Tornado Damage: A Twitter Story from an Oklahoma City Tornado-Door Responding to a 911 Call on Niki Scott

Resident Niki Scott took cover in the bathroom after her husband called to say a tornado was headed her way. She could hear glass shattering as the tornado roared past, and emerged afterward to find that her house was one of the few on her street that didn’t have a tree fall on it.

The Little Rock Fire Department stated on its page on Facebook that it was doing rescue operations in the western part of the city.

“Praying for all those who were and remain in the path of this storm,” she wrote on Twitter. “Arkansans must continue to stay weather aware as storms are continuing to move through.”

Passengers and airport employees at Clinton National Airport took shelter in bathrooms and were ordered to stay there until 3:45 p.m. Aerial footage showed several rooftops were torn from homes in Little Rock and nearby Benton.

Wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph whipped through Oklahoma where tens of thousands of people were without power. People were urged to leave homes in far northeast Oklahoma City and troopers shut down portions of I-35 in the suburb of Edmond.

Dylan Dodson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Des Moines, said there were two confirmed tornadoes Friday afternoon in eastern Iowa but it was too early to estimate their size or how much damage they had caused. There were no reports of injuries when one touched down in an empty field.

In Illinois, Ben Wagner, chief radar operator for the Woodford County Emergency Management Agency, said hail broke windows on cars and buildings in the area of Roanoke, northeast of Peoria.

By Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service had put out tornado watches for most of Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa as well as western Illinois and parts of Wisconsin and Texas.

Powerful winds, tornadoes and large hail could occur in the area, according to forecasters.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/31/1167521726/little-rock-arkansas-tornado-damage

High-Wind High-Surface Winds in the Gulf of Mexico and Implications for the First Week of April Showers in South Dakota

The University of Iowa in Iowa City canceled a watch party for fans who planned to attend the women’s Final Four game against South Carolina.

The forecast is a result of the strong southerly winds that will interact with the storm system in the Gulf of Mexico.

In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem ordered state executive branch offices to be closed Friday in parts of the state, as freezing rain, snow and high winds were expected. Many counties were under blizzard or ice storm warnings.

The weather service is forecasting another batch of intense storms next Tuesday in the same general area as last week. At least the first 10 days of April will be rough, Accuweather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said earlier this week.