US: Tornadoes claim 33 lives, wreak havoc in Missouri, Kansas, other regions; state emergency declared - Viral Video

Devastating tornadoes tore through parts of the US, destroying schools and toppling semitrailers. The storm has killed at least 33 people, with more severe weather expected on late Saturday.

The death toll rose after a Kansas Highway Patrol report confirmed eight fatalities in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm in Sherman County on Friday. At least 50 vehicles were involved. Missouri suffered the highest casualties, with at least 12 deaths from scattered twisters overnight. Among the victims was a man killed when a tornado demolished his home.

"We have teams out surveying the damage from last night's tornadoes and have first responders on the ground to assist," Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on X.

She and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared states of emergency. Kemp said he was making the declaration in anticipation of severe weather moving in later on Saturday. Here's a look at a few key updates

• The deaths came as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.
• Extreme weather conditions were forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people.
• Winds gusting up to 80 mph (130 kph) were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.
• The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of far western Minnesota and far eastern South Dakota starting early Saturday. Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) were expected, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) possible.
• Winds gusting to 60 mph (97 kph) were expected to cause whiteout conditions.

• Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. Nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed. Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a Saturday news conference that some 266 square miles (689 square kilometers) had burned in his state.
• The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.
• The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs on Saturday, but the greatest threat would come from winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph) possible.