Dozens of warnings are being issued in rapid-fire succession Saturday afternoon in Mississippi and soon Alabama. Several storms are producing what appear to be large, long-lived tornadoes. Forecasters at the National Weather Service are pleading with residents to stay aware of the weather and heed the warnings today;

At least 12 fatalities have been reported in Missouri, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. The deaths come as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.

A severe weather system spawned intense, long-duration tornadoes that struck parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri, leaving some communities in tatters.