Severe storms have left at least three people dead and nearly 300,000 customers without power in parts of the Midwest and the South, as forecasters warned that intense, long-lasting storms at a level typically experienced only once or twice in a lifetime could sweep across a vast swath of the South on Saturday.

The Weather Service also issued the highest risk alert for tornadoes in some areas of the Midwest starting Friday night.

“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the Weather Service warned residents in parts of western Illinois. “Damage to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol wrote on X that a man and a woman had died after storms tore through Ozark County, near the border with Arkansas.

And Robbie Myers, the director of Butler County Emergency Management in Missouri, said at least one person had died overnight after getting trapped in a house that sustained severe damage on a country road near Poplar Bluffs, Mo. A mobile-home park, church and grocery store in town had also been damaged, he said.

“It was a very devastating scene where the mobile-home park was,” Mr. Myers said. “We’re waiting for the sun to come up to see how much damage has been done.”

Locations of tornado sightings or damage reported by trained spotters.

Source: National Weather Service | Notes: Reports are considered preliminary. Data is for the 24 hours starting March 14 at 8 a.m. Eastern, during which updates are being made every 10 minutes.

By Julie Walton Shaver

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