Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 34 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday.

In Kansas, at least eight people died and numerous injuries were reported Friday after more than 55 vehicles were involved in a crash due to a dust storm. 

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves reported six deaths across three counties as multiple tornadoes swept through the state. At least three others were missing, Reeves said. 

Missouri recorded more fatalities than any other state as it withstood scattered twisters overnight that killed at least 12, authorities said. The deaths included a man whose home was ripped apart by a tornado.

“It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field,” said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”

Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing people trapped in their homes Friday night found five bodies scattered in the debris outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County, Missouri.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said that first responders, volunteers and faith-based partners “worked tirelessly” through the night “in response to a series of devastating tornadoes and severe storms, and before that, dangerous and damaging fires.” 

In Oklahoma, the governor said one person died on the road, presumably due to smoke.

In Arkansas, officials reported three fatalities in Independence County, and 29 people were reported injured in eight counties in connection to a storm system that moved through the state overnight. Staff from the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) have been called to the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) due to extensive storm damage across the state. 

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Saturday that she spoke with President Trump after Friday night’s tornados in the state. 

“[Trump] said to tell the people of Arkansas he loves them and he and his administration are here to help with whatever we need following last night’s tornadoes,” she said in a post on X.

Further south in Texas, officials said four people died after weather-related fatalities, some during car crashes in the midst of a dust storm.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. “We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled.”

Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.

“This is terrible out here,” said Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 48-foot trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma. “There’s a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I’m not pushing it over 55 mph. I’m scared it will blow over if I do.”

The severe storm front sparked tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama. The weather service issued multiple tornado warnings across Alabama Saturday night, advising residents to “please seek shelter.”

In the east Alabama community of Elrod, a CBS News spotter reported that a possible tornado had uprooted trees and damaged at least one home.

And in Sipsey, Alabama, north of Birmingham, a 911 call center told CBS News that a suspected tornado had caused possible injuries and damaged several homes.

At one point, weather service employees at the agency’s Birmingham office were forced to abandon operations and take shelter themselves.

“We’re back. Much thanks to @NWSAtlanta for the help!” NWS Birmingham wrote on social media. 

Heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some parts of the East Coast on Sunday. 

Experts say it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.

“What’s unique about this one is its large size and intensity,” said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. “And so what that is doing is producing really substantial impacts over a very large area.”

The deaths came as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.

Extreme weather conditions were forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80 mph were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.