Photo credit: wral.com

A massive storm threatens the central U.S. from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and has already caused heavy snowfall, tornadoes, rain, and hail. The storm surge of has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and is creating dangerous conditions that have killed at least three people. Among the three victims claimed by the storms is a sleeping 2-year-old girl in Louisiana.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Straight into a massive tornado tonight and blessed to be alive! Courtesy of Savannah Boerjan 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼<br>Mountainburg, Arkansas <a href="https://t.co/nXnBkV40ub">pic.twitter.com/nXnBkV40ub</a></p>— Brandola (@BrandolaBar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandolaBar/status/985017734449782784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The tiny Ozark Mountain town of Mountainburg, Arkansas, was ravaged by a tornado that injured at least four people and caused massive amounts of damage Friday. Brad Thomas, Crawford County Emergency Management Director, said there were at least three cases of people trapped after the tornado, but he did not know the condition of the four injured people.

The tornado was captured on video sweeping through the small town and uprooting trees, flipping cars, and damaging buildings. Jake Beitlich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota said the storm has also compromised energy distribution.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Video shows what appears to be a massive, fast-moving tornado churning through Arkansas as severe storms slammed several southern states. <a href="https://t.co/rC0Su9ETIr">https://t.co/rC0Su9ETIr</a> <a href="https://t.co/rjdgmqhL52">pic.twitter.com/rjdgmqhL52</a></p>— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/985294207995863040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: Take a look at this video from Josh Coleman as a tornado-warned storm moved over NW Arkansas earlier. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/arwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#arwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/K7yjSzifLN">pic.twitter.com/K7yjSzifLN</a></p>— Matthew Sewell (@_MattSewell) <a href="https://twitter.com/_MattSewell/status/984928024855490562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2018</a></blockquote>

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"We do get pretty powerful systems coming throughout the Midwest, and on the cold side we do get snow," Beitlich said. "And this one is particularly strong. So we do have a lot of moisture with it, and a lot of energy. Over the next 24 hours, cold air is going to get wrapped into this system and we're going to see a band of heavy snow develop from southwestern Minnesota through northern Wisconsin. Also we're going to have really strong winds, especially in western Minnesota."

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Blizzard warnings were issued from northern Kansas to Nebraska and South Dakota to Minnesota and Iowa. Winter storm watches are also issued for Wisconsin and Michigan as the turbulent storm from moves across the country. South Carolina is also expected to be walloped Monday with the potential for tornadoes. Officials were forced to close Sioux Falls, South Dakota airport Friday through Saturday due to the snow. Beitlich added, "That that just kind of again speaks to how strong the system is, where you're going to get a lot of snow on the cold side, and severe thunderstorms in the warm part of the storm."

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Source: http://www.wral.com/storm-system-spawns-tornado-in-arkansas-blizzards-in-plains/17486385/