Vicious and damaging weather across multiple US states spawned violent tornadoes, blinding dust storms and fast-moving wildfires over the weekend, leaving at least 39 people dead.
In the latest tally of the destruction, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said more than 400 homes were damaged as wildfires swept across the state on Friday.
At least 74 homes in and around Stillwater were destroyed by wildfires, Mayor Will Joyce said Sunday night on Facebook.
The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed four fatalities in the state related to the fires or high winds.
The National Weather Service said dangerous winds were still possible in the Carolinas, east Georgia and northern Florida throughout Sunday.
In Mississippi, Hailey Hart and her fiancé Steve Romero hunkered down with their three huskies inside their car as a tornado ripped apart their home on Saturday in Tylertown.
Romero said he prayed as the car rolled onto its side, windows shattering, before it landed on its wheels again. After the twister passed, they could hear people nearby screaming for help.
“It was a bad dream come true,” Romero said.
Next door, Hart’s grandparents crawled out from the rubble of their destroyed house after sheltering in a bathroom as falling trees collapsed the roof.
“Everything was coming down on us,” said Donna Blansett, Hart’s grandmother.
“All I could do was pray to God to save us.”
They escaped with just a few scratches and aches. Family members, friends and volunteers spent Sunday removing debris and salvaging anything they could find, including some damp clothes, a photo album and toiletries.
The dynamic storm that began on Friday earned an unusual “high risk” designation from weather forecasters.
At least three people, including an 82-year-old woman, were killed in central Alabama when multiple tornadoes swept across the state.
In Troy, Alabama, parks officials said the recreation centre where many residents had taken refuge had to be closed due to damage from overnight storms. No one was injured.
In battered Missouri at least 12 people died as tornadoes swept across the state, destroying structures.
Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing trapped neighbours found five bodies scattered in rubble on Friday night outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County.
He said they rescued his aunt through a window of the only room left standing.
Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, Missouri, described the home where one man was killed as “just a debris field”.
“The floor was upside down,” he said.
“We were walking on walls.”
In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves said six people died and more than 200 were displaced after tornadoes sowed devastation across three counties.
One of the deaths occurred in Covington County, where Seminary resident Traci Ladner said she watched a tornado knock down trees and power lines and destroy a house on Saturday as she drove home from Ward’s Restaurant.
“I was crying. My legs were shaking. It was pretty scary,” she said.
In Arkansas, officials confirmed three deaths and wind-driven wildfires caused extensive damage in Texas and Oklahoma, with officials warning that parts of both states would again face an increased risk of fire danger in the coming week.
More than 130 fires were reported across Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt said.
“Nobody has enough resources to fight fires when the wind is blowing 70m/ph (113km/h),” said Terry Essary, the fire chief of Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“It’s an insurmountable task.”
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesperson Keli Cain two people were killed as a result of the wildfires and weather.
Meanwhile, dust storms spurred by high winds claimed almost a dozen lives on Friday.
Eight people died in a Kansas highway pileup involving at least 50 vehicles, and three people also were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Texas.
