Extreme weather that battered parts of the Midwest and caused death and destruction over the weekend turned to Texas overnight and will move into the lower Mississippi Valley on Monday, bringing the risk of storms and flash flooding.
Rescue crews were sifting through wrecked homes in the hope of finding survivors after a devastating weekend.
At least five people, including an infant, were confirmed to have died as of Sunday in Oklahoma and Iowa as a result of extreme weather. The victims’ names have not been released.
On Monday, the National Weather Service said the tornado that struck Marietta, Oklahoma, on Saturday was upgraded to EF4 on the 1-5 scale of potency, meaning it produced sustained winds of at least 166 mph and possibly as strong as 200 mph.
It was the first EF4 tornado of the year across the country and the strongest so far. The destructive tornado that touched down in Sulphur on Saturday was assessed at EF3, defined as a vortex hitting the ground with sustained winds of 136 to 165 mph.
The weather service said it documented 25 tornadoes that touched down Saturday in the area covered by its office in Norman, Oklahoma.
It said Monday that "the worst of the heavy rain and thunderstorms should be behind us by this evening." But Tuesday could also bring severe weather to 6 million people.
Severe storms are possible across parts of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas. That includes some of the areas hit hard by weekend tornadoes, including Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; and the Kansas City, Missouri, area. Very large hail and damaging winds will be the main risks, followed by isolated tornadoes and a flash flood risk Wednesday and Thursday from Wisconsin to Texas.
There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms — with “very large hail,” severe wind and possible tornadoes — for eastern Nebraska, northwestern Iowa, northwestern Missouri, eastern Kansas, southeastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the next large system swinging in from the west will bring the risk for severe storms back to the central Plains and parts of Kansas, western Oklahoma and northern Texas. Topeka and Wichita in Kansas are the largest cities at risk for hazards that include heavy rain.
The weather service blames a succession of cold fronts dropping down and moving east from the Pacific Northwest. The systems clash with warmer air to the southeast, producing a roiling, unstable atmosphere that's fertile for tornadoes and thunderstorms.
"The weather pattern that keeps sending fast-moving disturbances across the western U.S. will continue to form new low pressure systems in quick succession over the mid-section of the country through the next couple of days," the weather service said in a national forecast discussion Monday.
The system that brought severe weather and flash flooding to Houston and New Orleans has moved off the Gulf Coast.
Storms in southeast Texas destroyed at least one home in the city of Trinity, reducing it to a pile of rubble, and damaged several others, NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston reported.
Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said in a Facebook video that a tornado demolished the house and that two people were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
"It's completely gone, cars turned completely upside down. It's kind of unheard of in our area, but thankfully everybody got out alive," he said.
On Monday, Conroe, Texas, Police Chief Jeff Christy said in a statement that Lt. James "Jimmy" Waller and his wife were injured in the Trinity County tornado.
Waller suffered critical injuries and will require multiple operations, Christ said. Waller's wife was treated and remains at his side, Christy said.
Tens of thousands of customers were without power Monday afternoon, including over 24,000 in Louisiana, 13,000 in Texas and more than 5,000 in Oklahoma, according to PowerOutage.us.
Social media posts showed cars driving through flooded streets in Trinity as heavy rain fell and thunder rumbled across the sky. The weather service in Houston said the flash flooding could be "life-threatening," with 4 to 8 inches of rain falling in some parts of southeastern Texas.
The streets were so flooded in Madisonville, Texas, on Sunday that a man was able to use a kayak to get around in a moment captured by a local resident.
Meanwhile, a huge cleanup operation is underway in Oklahoma, where entire towns have been devastated.
"You just can’t believe the destruction," Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a visit to Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people south of Oklahoma City, which was hit by a tornado. "It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed."
At least one person was killed and 30 people were injured in Sulphur, he said. Some of the victims were sheltering in a bar. Aerial photography showed the town's historic downtown district was reduced to rubble. Hospitals reported at least 100 people with injuries across Oklahoma.
Four semitrucks overturned in Marietta, and Interstate 35 was closed in the wake of the tornado there, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. Utility lines fell and crossed the highway, it said by email.
Stitt signed a declaration of emergency status for 12 counties Sunday.
In Iowa, a tornado destroyed parts of Pottawattamie County on Friday, including around 300 homes and businesses, the county said in a release. The worst damage was in the city of Minden, where at least 48 homes were destroyed and a man died as a result of storm-related injuries.
The White House confirmed overnight that President Joe Biden had spoken to Stitt and "offered the full support of the federal government following Saturday’s deadly tornadoes in the state."
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen declared a state of emergency for Douglas, Lancaster and Washington counties just before 8 p.m. ET Sunday to unlock financial assistance in the wake of the severe storms. He posted pictures showing homes devastated by strong winds.
"The destruction is extensive," Pillen said Sunday on X. "Many families have lost their homes. But Nebraskans are helping Nebraskans and the state will support them."
