Texas and Oklahoma have experienced especially harsh conditions, with Amarillo County reporting three deaths in a 38-car pileup due to a dust storm. Oklahoma saw over 130 fires and significant wind damage, leading to evacuations. Forecasters warned that destructive winds and tornadoes will continue into the weekend,threatening cities like Jackson, Birmingham, and Hattiesburg.
Fires in Roberts County, Texas, rapidly expanded to over 32 square miles, and nearly 300,000 households lost power across multiple states. Officials say the storm system’s massive scale and intensity make it unusually devastating for March, with impacts expected to continue across the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley, and parts of the East Coast.