Video above: Louisiana Winn Dixie damaged by tornado

A volatile storm ripping across the U.S. spawned tornadoes blamed for killing at least three people in Louisiana, and the line of punishing weather threatened neighboring Southern states into the nighttime hours Wednesday.

To the north, the huge storm system delivered blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains and was expected to push more snow and ice into Appalachia and New England. The wintery blast dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of South Dakota.

Authorities in St. Charles Parish west of New Orleans said eight people were taken to hospitals with injuries Wednesday afternoon and one woman was found dead outdoors after a suspected tornado struck the community of Killona along the Mississippi River, damaging homes and flinging debris.

"She was outside the residence, so we don't know exactly what happened," St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said of the woman killed. He added. "There was debris everywhere. She could have been struck. We don't know for sure. But this was a horrific and a very violent tornado."

About 280 miles away in northern Louisiana, it took hours for authorities to find the bodies of a mother and child reported missing after a tornado swept away their mobile home Tuesday in Keithville, a rural community near Shreveport.

"You go to search a house and the house isn't even there, so where do you search?" Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters, noting the challenge faced by emergency responders as he toured a mile-long path of destruction in Keithville.

The Caddo Parish Coroner's Office said the body of 8-year-old Nikolus Little was found around 11 p.m. Tuesday in a wooded area. His mother, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, was found dead under storm debris around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Smith's body was discovered one street over from where their home had been. Her son was found dead as far as a half-mile away, said Caddo Parish Sheriff's Sgt. Casey Jones. He said the boy's father had left to buy groceries before the storm hit.

Video below: Large tornado strikes Arabi, Lower Ninth Ward

"He just went to go shopping for his family, came home and the house was gone," said Jones. When deputies arrived, they found nothing but a concrete slab.

Wednesday's forecast called for more severe storms with additional tornadoes expected across an area of the Gulf Coast region populated by nearly 3 million people from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama. More damaging weather also was possible in the Florida panhandle.

A steady stream of tornado warnings was issued Wednesday across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

In Union Parish, in northern Louisiana near the Arkansas line, Farmerville Mayor John Crow said a tornado Tuesday night badly damaged an apartment complex where 50 families lived, wiping out a neighboring trailer park with about 10 homes. "It happened quick," Crow said Wednesday, adding that about 30 homes were damaged along nearby Lake D'Arbonne.

Shannon Futch, Union Parish's emergency director, said there were reports of numerous people treated for cuts and bruises and at least two people hospitalized after a twister cut a swath of damage about 5 miles long, toppling trees onto about a dozen houses.

"Some people even stayed the night in their houses that had big pine trees on them," Futch said. "They didn't have anywhere to go."

A suspected tornado reported in New Iberia in southwest Louisiana damaged several buildings on the campus of New Iberia Medical Center, hospital officials said, with five people reporting minor injuries.

Video below: Woman killed in Killona tornado identified

In neighboring Mississippi, a suspected tornado destroyed four large chicken houses — one containing 5,000 roosters — in Rankin County, Mississippi, Sheriff Bryan Bailey said. Mobile homes at a park in Sharkey County, Mississppi, were reduced to piles of shredded debris. Resident Leslie Jackson told WLBT-TV her home was one of only a few left standing.

A line of thunderstorms sweeping through Texas spawned tornadoes Tuesday that damaged dozens of homes and businesses. At least five people were injured In the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, police spokesperson Amanda McNew said. A possible tornado blew the roof off the city's municipal service center, leaving debris dangling from powerlines.

Icy weather from the huge storm was expected to affect the U.S. from coast to coast. It began by dumping heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada and was predicted to bring ice and snow to the eastern U.S. in coming days.

"This system is notable for the fact that it's going impact areas all the way from California to eventually the Northeast," said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Forecasters expect the storm system to hobble the upper Midwest with ice, rain and snow for days, as well as move into the central Appalachians and Northeast. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch from Wednesday night through Friday afternoon, depending on the timing of the storm. Residents from West Virginia to Vermont were told to watch for a possible significant mix of snow, ice and sleet.

In the Black Hills of western South Dakota, snow piled up to nearly 2 feet in some mountainous communities.

"They shovel for hours on end," said Vicki Weekly, who manages a historic hotel in the tourist and gambling city of Deadwood. A few visitors were still venturing out to hit the casinos.

A roughly 320-mile span of Interstate 90 in South Dakota was closed Wednesday, and state officials warned drivers to stay off most highways. The state also planned to close Interstate 29 in the northeast corner of the state on Wednesday night.

Wet, heavy snow left tree limbs sagging and made driving treacherous Wednesday in northern Minnesota. Weather Service meteorologist Ketzel Levens in Duluth said snow had reached 6 to 8 inches in some areas.

___

McGill reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ken Miller in Oklahoma City; Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Julie Walker in New York; Sam Metz in Salt Lake City; Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Just 30 days ago, a swarm of tornadoes killed over 70 people and left thousands without homes in Kentucky.  

Amid the devastation, there was a miracle rescue in Hopkins County. Deputies found two baby brothers among debris.

Their grandmother, Clara Lutz, says a tornado sucked the tub they were in out of their house.

A month later, she says the boys are doing fine.

"The three-year-old, who just turned four, he is following commands. He is growing like a weed, and I praise God for that," she said. "Caden, my 15-month-old, he came out unharmed, so I just praise the Lord that they're both doing well."

It all started when Lutz heard the emergency alerts blaring from her phone. She says she grabbed her grandchildren and two dogs and ran straight for the bathroom.

"I put on both of them in the bathtub. I put Dallas on one side and Caden on the other side, and I put the Bible between and I covered them up," she said. "I felt the rumbling of the house. I heard what sounded like a train coming and before I knew it, the tub went flying and I couldn't hold on to it. And I said, Lord, please keep them safe. Lord, whoever you send up here, please direct them straight to my boys."

Thirty miles away in nearby Muhlenberg County, Jordan Blaize hid in his basement as the ferocious storm destroyed most of his home. His piano survived the storm.

Searching for a moment of peace, he played his waterlogged piano with missing keys. 

"I'm not sure if we'll rebuild exactly here, but I can't imagine being far," he said.

After a video of Blaize playing the piano went viral, he was invited to an even bigger stage at the Opry in Nashville. 

Sean Lynch made the 14-hour trip from Colorado to Mayfield to meet his sister and bring her storm supplies.

Both say they still speak to each other frequently and they're elated to have found another family member.

"I got 67 years to catch up, you know, and she's the oldest," Lynch said. "The only thing she knew about her dad, Charlie, is that he had a baby with another woman. I was the baby."

This story was first reported on Newsy.com.

Kentuckians that have received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits who lost food due to the recent storms and tornadoes that devastated Western Kentucky can request benefit replacements and use benefits to purchase hot food.

Current SNAP beneficiaries can call the Department of Community Based Services at 855-306-8959 or visit their county's DCBS office to request replacements.

These benefits are available through a waiver approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service.

Replacements can be requested until Jan. 8, 2022.

A second waiver that was approved on Dec. 23, provides automatic replacements of December benefits to some residents of Mayfield, Dawson Springs, Auburn, Pembroke, Warren and Hickman Counties.

This replacement applies to households that received their benefits prior to the storms. SNAP households not covered by this automatic replacement will need to call DCBS to request a replacement.

A third waiver allows the purchase of hot food from authorized SNAP retailers with their benefits.

Kentuckians residing in the following counties may make hot food purchases through Jan. 17, 2022:

Adair, Allen, Barren, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Larue, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McClean, McCracken, Metcalfe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Warren and Webster.

USDA emphasized the importance of the waiver, noting that many Kentucky residents evacuated to shelters, cannot store food, and lack access to cooking facilities as a result.

Gov. Andy Beshear said on Tuesday, "Kentuckians have suffered terribly from these historic storms and we are thankful that these additional food benefits are available to help nourish those in need."

The governor urged those affected by the storms to visit governor.ky.gov/tornado resources to learn more about the food benefits and other resources for storm survivors.

"We are grateful for these waivers to help Kentuckians whose homes and property were damaged or destroyed by this historic storm," Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander said. "It's reassuring to know that storm victims can receive these essential benefits."

"The approved Hot Foods waiver will help Kentuckians receive increased access to hot meals for themselves and their families," said USDA Southeast Regional Administrator Willie C. Taylor. "This waiver is a vital step to keep SNAP participants healthy and moving forward as they recover from the recent tornado storm damage."

Under normal circumstances, hot foods cannot be bought using SNAP benefits. SNAP authorized retailers have been notified of the approval. Retailers in the state may need as much as 24 to 36 hours to make changes that will allow the sale of hot foods, and where practical, customers may remain on the premises to consume those foods.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service is ready to consider additional waivers that may be needed to help program participants who have lost food due to the disaster and to simplify the application process for affected households, upon request from DCBS.

Kentuckians who believe they may be eligible to receive SNAP benefits should call the DCBS call center at 1-855-306-8959 or click here to apply.

Applications may also be made at local DCBS offices.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in disaster designated counties can apply for other types of assistance by registering online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.

For more information about applying for benefits or finding community resources, please visit kynect.

Last weekend's tornadoes in the south and Midwest are believed to be the deadliest on record for December. So far, about 90 people are confirmed to have been killed in western Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that 16 people in his state are still missing following the storms.

Forecasters say there was an indication of a possible significant weather event days ahead of the storm — but they had no idea the storms would be so violent.

"As we got closer to the event, it became the upper-level pattern is matching up well, the temperatures have stayed extremely warm at the ground, and nothing's happened to cool that off," said Harold Brooks, a scientist with NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Lab.

Brooks says large outbreaks of violent tornadoes are not uncommon in December, nor are large upper-level systems.

But one rare factor that led to last week's extreme weather event was the large area of warm, moist air on the ground. The region had been experiencing record warm temperatures, and there have been no recent cold fronts to cool down the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Gulf temperatures look like they should look a couple of months ago, and so they're very high," Brooks said. "That means when air comes out of the south, it's bringing up a lot of warm, moist air, which is the fuel for the thunderstorms. So, that's the key thing — that warm, moist air fuels what's under first, and then the strong, upper-level system brings in the winds, which are necessary to make those storms rotate and be potential tornadoes."

Warmer temperatures are one ingredient for tornadoes that can be attributed to climate change. But Brooks says it's hard to make a direct link to climate change because tornadoes mostly depend on the wind.

"The fact that that may actually decrease in the future makes the climate connection a lot harder in tornadoes than it does in a lot of other things," Brooks said. "It's not as straightforward is as temperature records or heavy rainfall, which both are really pretty directly related to the planet warming."

As scientists continue to study last week's tornado outbreak, Brooks made one message clear — people need to pay attention to potential weather events before they happen, so families can make potentially life-saving plans.

Instead of preparing for Christmas, a family is planning a funeral for a loved one lost during the deadly Kentucky tornadoes last weekend.

Jill Monroe, 52, had just moved to Mayfield, Kentucky, a few months ago and was working at the candle factory Friday night when the tornado moved through.

"She had sent me a text at 9:27 Friday night that she was taking shelter in the bathroom, and that the storms were bad, and for us to stay aware here," said Heather McFuggin, Monroe's sister.

Chris Chism, Monroe's son, said she texted this: "It's here. It's bad and I'm scared."

He said he spent the evening texting with her, but then suddenly she stopped responding.

The next few hours were spent waiting, watching and wondering what happened.

Chism and his family spent hours trying to get in touch with his mother. All they knew was that she was working at the Mayfield factory, which was in the direct path of the deadly tornado.

Here's how you can help the victims of the tornadoes

"I called 43 times. From the moment we found out until that next morning when her phone died," Chism said.

After unanswered calls and hours of waiting, Chism and his wife, Paige, hit the road Saturday morning. On the drive to Mayfield, they learned the candle factory had been leveled, but still no news about his mother.

"We got there and spent a couple hours at the candle factory. They wouldn't let us down close enough to really see anything, but we were there," he said.

He said he eventually got in touch with his mom's co-worker and friend, and learned his mother spent her final moments helping her coworkers to safety.

"She said, 'The last time I saw your mom, she ran into the last stall and took a bunch of people in there with her and we all laid down and tried to hold on,' and she said that's the last time I saw her," Chism said.

Sunday afternoon, Chism said the coroner's office confirmed his mother was one of the eight people who died in the candle factory.

"You know, you don't really ever think that anything bad is actually going to happen," he said. "It's tough. Very, very tough."

More than 100 people were working on holiday candle orders when the twister leveled the facility. The company later said many employees who survived left the site and went to homes with no phone service, adding to the confusion over who was missing.

Since then, all workers have been accounted for, according to state and local officials who have spoken to the company.

Mayfield, which is home to 10,000 residents and the candle factory, suffered some of the worst damage in the country. The tornadoes that killed at least 88 people — 74 of them in Kentucky — cut a path of devastation from Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed, to Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center was heavily damaged.

Monroe's family is working with the coroner to get the 52-year-old's body back to Oldham County, Kentucky. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the funeral expenses. Click here for more information on how to help the family.

An intense storm system moving from the Rockies into the Plains is producing severe weather, tornadoes and extreme fire danger while also bringing widespread damaging winds on Wednesday.

In Minnesota, the National Weather Service office in the Twin Cities said there was a confirmed tornado in Plainview. This is the first tornado ever reported in the state during the month of December, according to NOAA data. The storm was moving northeast at 70 mph.

"Please calmly take shelter," the weather service tweeted.

Before today, there had never been a tornado touch down in Minnesota during the winter months of December, January or February.

By 9:20 p.m. EST, there also were 19 reports of tornadoes and possible tornadoes in Iowa and Nebraska, according to the Storm Prediction Center. About 300 severe wind reports had come in from across the Central Plains and into the Midwest.

Winds gusting up to 107 mph in Lamar, Colorado, have toppled semi-trucks, ripped off roofs, and toppled trees, according to Mayor Kirk Crespin.

"It's been an interesting day here in Lamar, and a record-breaking day for wind," he said. "Gusts have caused widespread damage."

Wednesday's storm outbreak is unusual for this time of year and comes on the heels of one of the deadliest weather events in history.

Crespin said that all emergency management workers are operational and working hard to keep the community safe.

"We have tree damage and electrical lines down as well as the internet," Crespin said. "We are working hard to keep everyone safe."

Crespin said crews have been out all day trying to clean up the damage caused by the winds as well as repair lines and that they will continue to work throughout the afternoon in the evening.

"We will have a lot of damage to repair when the winds die down," he said.

Mike Smaldino, public information officer with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, said that sustained winds and gusts have caused significant damage in Colorado Springs.

"Our own fire department roof has partly blown off," Smaldino said. "Just on my drive into the city, I saw about a dozen semi-trucks toppled over."

Smaldino said that calls into the fire department have nearly quadrupled in the last three hours. "We are dealing with gas leaks, grass fires from power lines being down as well as smoldering trees."

A gas leak at the Chapel Hills Mall caused authorities to have to evacuate the mall. According to Smaldino, the leak was stopped, and the air is being cleared.

Several locations, including the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, have reported wind gusts of 100 mph or greater, according to the National Weather Service.

At Fort Carson, wind caused minor damage to one gate, forcing the army base to close it, a tweet says. The public affairs office told CNN that at this time they are still assessing the damage, but it all appears to be minor. There are no injuries reported and no impact on traffic operations, the base said.

According to FlightAware.com, there are 541 flights delayed into and out of Denver International Airport with 146 flights canceled.

Hurricane-force wind gusts have already been recorded in at least seven states as of 4 p.m. EST.

The high winds are producing dust storm conditions over portions of the Plains. Interstate 70 was closed for hours in both directions from the Colorado state line to Russell, Kansas, with sand and dust creating near-zero visibility, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The weather was so bad at Kansas City International Airport that air traffic controllers were briefly evacuated from their workspace due "to wind and the fact that it is a glass box 256 feet up in the air," said airport spokesman Joe McBride.

In New Mexico, Taos County Commissioner Candyce O'Donnell said at least 10 homes have been damaged by high winds.

"County-wide damage to homes and a government building (Taos Ski Valley) are being reported," O'Donnell wrote on Facebook. "High winds of up to 80 mph uprooted trees that fell on structures, damaging roofs. A large tree in the Upper Red River canyon smashed into a home splitting the home nearly in half."

More than 80 million people are under wind alerts from the storm and over 35 million are under high wind warnings, including residents of Denver, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Power outages are expected to increase as the powerful wind field expands and spreads east.

As of Wednesday evening, more than 330,000 customers are without power across five states, according to Poweroutage.us.

In Kansas, more than 130,000 customers — homes, businesses and organizations — are without power. The outage numbers for other states affected by the bad weather are:

• Colorado, 81,549
• Iowa, 50,966
• Missouri, 45,415
• Nebraska, 22,696

At least nine wildfires are burning in northwest and western Oklahoma, according to Oklahoma Emergency Management Public Information Officer Keli Cain.

A red flag warning and a high wind warning are in effect for multiple counties, Cain said.

The largest fire is in Guymon, where there is an evacuation order, according to Cain.

"The other big issue that we have is just simply the high winds. We do have a high wind warning that is in effect for several counties as well up in Northwest, Oklahoma. And then we have a wind advisory that is in effect for most of the rest of the counties in Oklahoma," she said.

The wind could cause issues with power lines, according to Cain, and some roof damage was reported.

Cain noted that "people need to be especially careful with any activities that could spark a wildfire because winds are very, very high and it can get out of control very quickly."

In Texas, several hundred people have been told "to evacuate or be prepared to evacuate" the city of Iowa Park due to two fires, according to Wichita County Sheriff's Office Deputy Melvin Joyner.

"We have two separate fires going, so they're trying to get them contained, but it's going to be a little bit," he said. "The fire has changed direction a couple of times, but all we can do is monitor."

Iowa Park is about 150 miles northwest of Dallas.

Turns Wet And Windy

Updated: 11:35 PM EST Dec 15, 2021

Hide Transcript
Show Transcript