Tornadoes predicted to hit 12 million Americans as Missouri influencer exhibits epicenter of megastorm: ‘It’s coming proper for us’
Millions of Americans are under tornado watches as an enormous storm rages across the South and eastern portion of the United States.
The raging weather system has already dumped more than a foot of snow from parts of the northern Rockies to the Great Lakes, while wind gusts as high as 75mph have left hundreds of thousands of people without power further south.
Meteorologists have forecast a high risk of twisters forming in nine states, with tornado warnings covering more than 12 million people as of Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
Instagram influencer Sarah Krafft shared a video Sunday evening showing the storm approaching her home in Missouri as ominous, dark clouds formed on the horizon.
In the video posted from the epicenter of the storm, she said: ‘Today we’re under a tornado warning and a wind advisory with hurricane-like winds and it’s gonna snow…
‘When I looked at the radar coming up, it looks like a bright red line coming right for us, and we are in the center of the tornado warning.’
Later in the video, Krafft and her husband drove to his parents’ house to get out of the path of the tornado warning, and the influencer said the temperature had dropped to 15F.
Parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee are at the highest risk of tornadoes forming, and there is also risk in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia.
Millions of Americans are under tornado watches as an enormous storm rages across the South and eastern portion of the United States
Some of the potential tornadoes are expected to cause EF2-level damage, which means wind gusts up to 135mph could tear roofs off of houses and lift cars in the air. A home destroyed by a tornado in Illinois earlier this month is pictured
Meteorologists have said the storm is drawing moisture from both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, creating a volatile combination of rain, wind and rapidly changing temperatures.
The tornadoes could potentially cause significant damage, and some are predicted to be categorized as EF2s or higher on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which is a way of estimating tornado wind speeds based on damage.
Tornadoes at that level bring gusts of 111-135mph that are capable of tearing the roofs off homes, snapping trees in half and lifting vehicles into the air.
A level four of five risk of severe thunderstorms has been put into place for Monday from the Carolinas to the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. The surrounding area is under a level three of five risk.
As the storm moves east on Monday, the risk of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms will become highest in parts of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
Travel chaos has already emerged across the Midwest, with thousands of flights delayed or canceled at major hubs including Chicago and Minneapolis.
At O’Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago, more than 850 flights have been canceled, and at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, more than 600 were cance
led.
Meteorologists warned flight delays and cancelations could climb higher through Monday night, with ripple effects spreading across major hubs including Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Washington DC and Philadelphia.
Parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee are at the highest risk of tornadoes forming. A severe storm warning map is pictured
The northern portion of the storm has already dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of southern Minnesota and central Wisconsin, with more expected to come. Snowfall in Wisconsin Rapids is pictured on Sunday
The northern portion of the storm had already buried parts of southern Minnesota and central Wisconsin in snow by Sunday morning, and snow is expected to continue in much of the Midwest and around the Great Lakes through Monday.
In Rochester, Minnesota, parts of the city have already recorded a foot of snowfall, and up to another foot of snow is expected by the time the storm ends. The city’s record snowfall was 20 inches in March of 2005.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed an executive order activating the National Guard to assist emergency operations as the storm intensified.
Parts of Michigan’s northern peninsula are expected to receive up to three feet of snow by Monday night.
The city of Marquette in that region may also experience record snowfall, as it is forecast to receive up to four feet. The city’s current two-day storm record is 32 inches of snow from a blizzard in March 1997.
In Maryland’s Baltimore County, all public schools and their offices will be closed early on Monday due to storm and tornado risks, the school district announced on X on Sunday.
Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, seemed to marvel at the extreme weather spreading across the country, which is causing varied severe conditions.
‘All of a sudden, Mother Nature is having a fit,’ Oravec said.
