Tornadoes, Flash Floods Kill At Least 43 in US
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Tornadoes and flash floods continued to strike the US, forging the latest paths of destruction in a string of powerful storms that have killed at least 43 people across America.
Dangerous and unpredictable weather struck across much of North America over Christmas weekend, from Mexico to the border between the US and Canada.
Tornadoes, blizzards, and floods seemed to arise almost out of nowhere in Texas, Missouri and several other US states on Sunday.
In Dallas, temperatures were as high as 82F (28C) on Saturday before tornadoes ripped through the area, leaving 11 people dead. The next day the city was preparing for freezing temperatures, and the possibility of an "historic blizzard".
Extreme weather or threats of it also prompted the governors of Missouri and New Mexico to declare states of emergency for their states.
In New Mexico, roads in some areas were impassable as residents struggled to cope with snowdrifts of up to 8 feet in areas that only rarely see snowfall. Flash floods, meanwhile, killed at least 13 people in Missouri and Illinois.
In Missouri, emergency workers have evacuated residents from their homes and conducted dozens of water rescues, Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed.
Nixon declared a state of emergency, saying continued rains would make already widespread flooding conditions worse.
"A tornado of that strength is very rare in a metropolitan area," National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop said in a telephone interview with The Telegraph.
Three tornadoes were reported in Arkansas on Sunday, the weather service said, but there were no initial reports of significant injuries or damage. The service has issued tornado watches and warnings for areas in that state, as well as in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
A tornado watch means a storm is likely, while a warning means a storm or storms have been sighted.
The storms came on the heels of tornadoes that hit two days before Christmas, killing at least 18 people, including 10 in Mississippi.
The National Weather Service has issued severe weather advisories for large parts of the central United States, including a blizzard warning for parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and a flash flood watch stretching from Texas to Indiana.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency for the entire state due to a winter storm expected to dump up to 2 feet of snow in eastern parts of the state.
The bad weather forced the cancellation of more than 1,100 flights in the nation on Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. About half of the cancelled flights were in Dallas, a major US flight hub.
