hit this time and demolished that were the exact same homes that have been rebuilt from the last tornado. >> george howell, cnn, vilonia, arkansas. >> that's it for me. i'm jake tapper. and now we'll head to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." wolf? breaking news, tornado emergency, a potentially deadly line of severe thunderstorms battering multiple states and at least one twister has now touched down. new images of the devastation are coming in at a very frightening evening as millions of americans are in the storm's path. out of control, violently escalating tornadoes. peaceful protests suddenly turn violent. soldiers have been bombed and how close is the city going over the brink. shaking up the search.

new equipment and outside crews are coming in to help find flight 370. will this new effort finally succeed in finding the missing jumbo jet? nba scandal. corporate sponsors are fleeing the los angeles clippers after racist remarks attributed to the team's owner. >> if you don't feel it, don't come to my games. don't bring black people and don't come. >> can donald sterling survive the scandal rocking one of the best teams in the league? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." and we're following the breaking news. potentially deadly weather threatening millions of americans right now over a large swath of the country. at least one tornado has touched down following other storms that have killed more than a dozen people. among the latest developments, a line of ferocious thunderstorms now moving across the south prompting tornado watches and warnings. at least one twister has been reported on the ground in yazoo

city, mississippi. the national weather service says some 24 million americans are now at risk of severe storms. at least 16 people have been killed. 14 of them in arkansas. that state's governor will join me in a few minutes. and look at this stern warning in tupelo, mississippi, just a few minutes ago. >> still on the air. we're still on the air. this is a tornado emergency for lee county. this is a tornado ripping through the city of tupelo as we speak and this could be deadly. let's go to the tower cam. it's a damaging tornado on the ground. right now. everybody in the basement now. basement now. let's go.

let's go. >> we have our correspondents and storm chasers that are tracking this weather emergency in realtime. much more on just what happened in tupelo. let's go to our meteorologist jennifer gray. tell our viewers what they specifically need to know right now. >> well, wolf, this is developing minute by minute. we have tornado warnings in effect all across the south for mississippi stretching into portions of alabama. that storm that ripped through tupelo now entering into alabama, northwestern alabama. there's a tornado warning in effect until 4:30 central time and this is for culvert and franklin counties. if you are in muscle shoals or russellville, this is a very, very serious situation for you. so take cover if you are in those counties immediately. there's also tornado warnings still going on, wolf, in

mississippi. we have one for monroe county, aberdeen, and amory. you can see the pink boxes that are just lined up across portions of eastern mississippi that he is what we're going to be continuing to deal with for the next several hours. clay and webster counties, tornado warning for you. mantee, you need to take cover. choctaw, the warning goes on until 4:15. this is a very dangerous situation. this tornado watch has been labeled as a particularly dangerous situation. that doesn't happen very often. only a couple times a year. yesterday we saw that in arkansas. today we're seeing that again in mississippi, alabama, this is going to be the target and we're going to have to watch out for very, very dangerous conditions. very large tornadoes are

possible. you you they could be long lived as well. this is something that you should take very, very seriously. they have labeled this as a high risk of severe weather and large tornadoes. that, again, is something that we only see a couple of times a year. we're going to be watching the potential for very strong tornadoes to be produced throughout the rest of the afternoon into the overnight hours. so those tornado warnings in effect. we continue to see them in effect most likely as we go through the afternoon hours. >> jennifer, stand by. we'll get back to you with more information. the governor of mississippi is joining us on the phone. thanks very much. tell us what the latest is.

we have troubling information coming in. >> it is troubling. i'm at the emergency management headquarters. i just got off the phone with our response team on the ground here. heavy damage, obviously, several homes and power lines are down. a gas leak occurred and we've got it stopped but now our efforts are search and rescue we have no information regarding any injuries at this time but that's our first concern and so i'm meeting with the national guard unit. primarily we'll be responding with our search and rescue teams as we are now. >> we saw that funnel cloud going through tupelo.

have you confirmed that a tornado ripped through parts of tupelo? >> it's obvious it was a tornado. we always have concerns about straight line winds. this appeared to be tornadic action in that area to do that amount of damage and as you can see from the video, it looks like a large area of damage that occurred in that lee county and tupelo area. a second front may be heading through that area. that's what we're trying to decide now. a lot going on here at emergency management. >> is it just in the tupelo area or are other parts of your state impacted as well? >> there are other cities.

winston just had a report and madison county and so we are responding to each and every one of them as we can. >> you saw what happened last night in arkansas where there were 16 fatalities. is it too early to know about injuries? >> we have one city employee that has had an injury and we're providing medical assistance to him now. he was reporting to me with five minutes ago and that's where we are at trying to get crews and emergency responders into that area to find out who needs help and to get them the medical attention as quickly as possible. >> what do the people in mississippi need to know right now. we now severe weather was coming

to mississippi. obviously once a tornado actually hits the ground, it could be devastating. speak to the folks in mississippi right now. what do you want them to know? >> they need to know that it's not over. there could be additional tornadoes included in that cell. there could be heavy winds and rain in that area and there may be another cell behind that. they should continue to look for a place of shelter. if they need immediate assistance, obviously reach out to their local police department and sheriff's department. up fortunately, this is going to be a prolonged storm and they need to make sure that they take cover. >> when you say prolonged, what does that mean, governor?

>> it just depends. it's difficult to tell them how rapid these storms are moving. earlier predictions were until 6:00 that there would be heavy damage. storms that could come in from the west across the river to arkansas. i spoke to the governor about half an hour ago. we would certainly be on call for assistance but unfortunately, it looks like we're going to need everything that we have here. >> is fema the federal emergency management agency ready to help? >> they are. we began this morning, early, working with fema. and their team was on the ground as of yesterday from here. a press conference about 11:00 today again warning everyone to be very careful and to take

these storms very seriously. another note came to me, lee county touched down in lee county. a touchdown confirmed in philadelphia, mississippi. you're looking at four to five or perhaps half a dozen of touchdown tornadoes in mississippi so we better get back to work. >> good luck. we'll stay in close touch with you. thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> mississippi's governor fill bryant. let's go to brandy davis. she's on the phone. she's taking cover in starkville, mississippi. tell us what is going on where you are. >> hi. right now we're just kind of anticipating the weather. we've been watching the radar. me and my roommate and dog are in the hall with covers and we're taking cover and waiting it out. >> where are you taking cover? are you in the middle of this

house? is there a basement? explain where you are taking cover. >> well, it's kind of like it's -- kind of like -- it's a small hall so all of the exterior doors lead into that hallway and we've closed them all off and there's no windows or anything in there so it's the safest part of the house. >> and when you ran inside, what was it like outside the last time you saw what was going on outside in what did you see? >> right now the sky is just kind of a -- there's no clouds. it's just grayish. but, yeah, kind of waiting it out, you know, watching the radar. >> brandy, good luck to you. i know you're a student there in starkville, mississippi. be careful. we'll stay in touch with you and get an update. brandy davis joining us. let's go to the u.s. government storm prediction center right now. william buckley is joining us. what is the latest in what can

you give us about what is going on right now, bill? >> i think the governor said it well. we have multiple tornadic storms in progress across northeast alabama and this is far from over. in addition to tornadoes, we also expect very large hail, damaging straight line winds and flooding. this is a multithreat a afternoon and it will continue into the evening hours. >> and not just in mississippi but where else? >> extending into middle portion of tennessee and eastern missouri and as far northwest as into iowa. so this is covering a large area and unfortunately the same will be true as we move into tuesday and wednesday. so we have at least two more days before this weather system begins to move off the coast. >> and the tornadoes are ranked according to their severity. how powerful are these. >> it's difficult to say right

now. they are obviously significant. to really assess the intensity, you've got to get out and do a ground and even aerial survey. that will happen in due time. we're focused on getting our warnings out. the ofgss are listening to radar and trying to get as much warning as possible in advance of these storms and it's important that folks heed those warnings when issued for their area. >> it's critically important. it's literally a life and death matter. william bunting, out in norman, oklahoma, thank you for joining us. we're going to stay on top of this story. at least 16 people have been killed in the severe weather outbreak. we'll go live to one arkansas town that took a direct hit. the governor stood by to join us live. new information from him. there you see him. plus, disturbing and violent new developments happenings in ukraine right now. let's stand by to go there live

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we're following breaking news. deadly tornadoes. the governor is joining us. our deepest condolences. 14 people have died in arkansas. you went and toured the damage. what did you see? >> well, wolf, the extent of the damage in terms of the size and area was not as large as some of

the other areas that we've seen. but in the areas actually affected, the damage is much, much worse. the strength of this particular storm had to be in those upper ranges. we saw steel gerters that were twisted and anchored in the concrete and ground and pulled completely out of the ground. this was a very violent, very strong and i'm quite sure when the weather service ultimately rates it, it will be one of the higher rated tornadoes in terms of the fugima scale. >> did you have a chance to meet with families who have now been damaged by this? >> i did indeed. one of the two communities that was hit was also hit three years ago. so some of those people are asking why again. we've heard all sorts of heroic stories and we heard some tragic stories. in one instance, a father and his three little girls were in an area where every house in the

subdivision was totally destroyed. his house was completely destroyed. how anybody could live through it, i can't imagine. but he got into a bathtub with his daughters and the bathtub was ultimately picked up and turned completely over and he was under all of that debris but escaped with only minor scratches. on the other hand, we had a situation where a lady had a safe room built, one of those concrete structures and her house was completely gone. the only thing standing was the safe room and yet she died in the safe room when the door collapsed or when something went through the door of the safe room. so you see all sorts of extremes and our people are pretty resilient. volunteers are working together. all of the state and local agencies as well as the feds are on the scene, too. state and local agencies and first responders, we've gotten very good, unfortunately, at being able to respond to disasters and they have done a great job. they coordinate well and search and rescue was the first

activity and then we'll go on from there. >> as far as search and rescue, very quickly, governor, are their folks still missing? >> well, that's hard to get a handle on. sometimes we don't know where folks are and we classify them as missing only to find out that a relative has picked them up. they just haven't reported in. we assume that everyone we cannot account for is missing and so searches continue. but at this juncture, there's no specific count as to those missing because it's very difficult to figure out who has already been moved to another location, taken to the hospital perhaps and who is still unaccounted for. that's why the search and rescue goes on. >> governor beebe, good luck to everyone in arkansas and indeed throughout the south. we'll stay in close touch with you. awful, awful circumstances. governor beebe is the governr of arkansas. martin savidge is on the ground

for us. where are you and what are you seeing? >> wolf, we're about one exit away from the local mall which was supposed to have suffered damage. here's the problem we have right now. the weather has cleared. that's a blessing for the rescuers. the problem is we're in traffic gridlock. the main highway that runs to tupelo is now simply shut down, primarily with both lanes marked with nothing as far as you can see semitractor-trailer trucks. the off ramps are getting clogged. emergency vehicles have been trying to make their way closer into the city. we are only a couple of miles away but this gridlock has everything stymied at this point. emergency vehicles have been able to slowly get through thars a fire engine that is going by. this specific gas station, the overhead awning and power is out in the immediate area. no signs of heavy damage but there is clear signs that we're on the out skirts of the debris field. everything from the way the

trees are twisted and knocked down to the way that roots have been peeled off and residents are walking around, many of them feeling lucky that they missed the worst of it. how bad, we're still trying to find our way to get there. >> martin, we just heard from the governor, just hit by the tornado. much more of the breaking news coverage. millions of people bracing for what could be in the coming hours a very, very dangerous night of weather. we'll stay on top of that story. also, escalating violence in ukraine as the united states takes a bold new stance against russia. just ahead, i'll speak with president obama's deputy national security adviser and he's standing by live at the white house. ♪

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breaking news out of the south. i want to go to storm chaser northeast of tupelo which has just been hit by a tornado. he's near belmont, mississippi. connor, what are you seeing there? >> wolf, we have been driving

south for the last few minutes and we just went through smithville, mississippi, and when we were northeast of tupelo, we saw pretty significant tree damage where the tornado crossed the road where we were going and we were not in tupelo, the actual town, but there was debris falling out of the sky. that's not a good sign for the people of tupelo, that's for sure. >> are folks just driving away? what are they doing? >> right now everyone around here -- it doesn't seem like to many people have taken precautions. there were people outriding around. we were running into tupelo with other cars on the highway. it's very obvious that there is a tornado emergency for tupelo but people were just taking pictures, like usual, ignoring it. it's a little concerning to see that. >> it certainly is. connor, we'll check back with you in a little.

connor mccrorey is just outside of tupelo. much more coming up but there's also important news that we're following, including breaking news out of ukraine. take a look at this. this is the latest scene in eastern ukraine. pro-russian mobs beating pro ukrainian protesters while rioters try to intervene elsewhere. one soldier has been killed and one person shot in the back. what are you seeing there, nick paton walsh? >> reporter: we've seen one town here again taken by pro-russian militants who stormed the local administration and police station. police are seeing little resistance in what has become a practice routine for these pro-russian rebels. barack obama's expanding of sanctions today pointing out a key figure inside the kremlin

along with others, too. and perhaps putting in language to suggest future languages against sections of the russian economy. it's not slowing the path of violence. you talked about the clashes in central donetsk, a pro-ukrainian rally. a video showing how protesters attacked them with bats. many people beaten there. accusations that the police didn't do enough to stop that violence and then, of course, the mayor of the second largest city in ukraine shot while cycling. a very violent day, increasingly troubling times here. >> nick, we'll check back with you. nick paton walsh on the ground for us. amid all of this tension, the obama administration is ratcheting up sanctions against vladimir putin's inner circle. russia is threatening that its response will be, quote, painful. let's discuss what is going on. president obama's deputy national security adviser tony

blanken is joining us. some ukrainians have told us that they think these ratcheted-up sanctions are sanctions like so much more that the u.s. should be doing to which you say -- >> wolf, two things. first, the sanctions taken even before today have had a significant impact on russia and its economy. we've seen stocks down 22% and ruble at all-time lows and capital flight. the sanctions go to the heart of president putin's supporters and two prominent inner circle figure who is control one of the largest energy companies and one of the largest conglomerates. there are other important entities as well as other important officials. this has had an impact and it's going to have a greater impact. we've seen today that one of the companies in question, the large petroleum company that mr. sechen controls.

its rating, the company's credit rating was downgraded to just above the junk level. >> at what point does putin become sanctioned himself? there's a lot of money potentially that he controls. >> as the president said today, wolf, the point is not to go after president putin. it's to try to get him to change what he's doing. he has a very hard choice to make. his compact with his people has been to deliver economic growth and in return they would remain politically compliant. that growth is drying up and the only answer for him is to integrate his economy with the world markets and diversify it away from oil and gas and what he's doing now and what we've done in reaction is making it difficult for him to do that. he has a choice to continue what he's doing in ukraine and face increasing pressure from ukraine or he can choose a de-escalation path and continue to de-escalate

to end this crisis in ukraine. >> in their words there was a tense debate going on inside the obama administration right now over how far the u.s. should go. maybe even moving way beyond the europeans. do you want to respond to that suggestion? >> sure. i think the treasury secretary jack lew spoke to that earlier today and it's just not true. we have had a very deliberate process led by the president to make sure, two things, one, that as we increase the economic pressure on russia, we did so in a way that maximized the pressure on russia and minimize the the impact on the united states and we kept the europeans with us and indeed they announced additional measures as well. that's what we've been doing. it's already had an impact. >> the other day i interviewed ukraine's deputy foreign minister who was in washington and he said they need weapons. is the obama administration

ready to provide weapons to ukraine? >> wolf, we've already provided a significant amount of nonlethal security assistance to ukraine over the past few weeks. the vice president was in ukraine just last week and announced much more of that assistance. second, they don't need more weapons. the fact of the matter is that as the president said today, even if we provided more weapons, it wouldn't make a difference in terms of standing up to the russians. they need to professionize their military. what we can do most effectively to deter and dissuade russia is exactly what we're doing. that's to increase the economic pressure on russia, working in coordination with our allies. the other thing that we can do is lead the international effort to support ukraine, to support its economy. we have a major assistance package that is led by the imf, thanks to the american leadership. that's what we can do for ukraine. >> tony blinken, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks for having me, wolf.

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everybody get to the basement now. basement now. let's go. now. what? now. >> wtva broadcasting and a weather man running with everybody. that's in tupelo as a tornado was about to go through. we spoke with the governor. this is a severe, severe crisis in tupelo. jennifer gray is at the severe weather center with the latest. what are you seeing there?

>> every time i see that video, it gives me chills. it's a very dangerous situation. we have a couple of tornado warnings that are very important. i want to point out, this issued with these, a tornado emergency. we've heard that yesterday and today. it can definitely create widespread destruction and death. if you're in winston county, you need to take cover now. the city of brooksville and louisville, it's heading your way at about 45 miles per hour. take cover now if you're in the path of these storms. this is something that we're going to deal with as we go through the afternoon and evening hours. i want to zoom out on this a little bit. you see all of these hot pink boxes and these are all tornado warnings. we're seeing them also in northeastern mississippi. they are continuing to push to the north and east and push into

portions of alabama. already are. also into tennessee. tornado warnings in effect for clay and webster counties right now until 5:00 central time and then these are the storms a little farther to the south. very important, don't wait until you think you can see the tornado because then it's too late. get into your safe spot. a lot of times these are wrapped with rain, you can't see them coming and in a couple of hours when we lose the daylight, you'll need to have your weather radio handy, all of your tools in place, your plan in place so you can find your safe spot. tornado watch right now for a lot of mississippi, alabama into southern tennessee. these are racing off towards the east and it's being called a particularly dangerous situation, something you should take very seriously. these storms are heading into portions of eastern tennessee as we go through the late hours of tonight and a tornado watch from

illinois to iowa. the tornadoes have lined up basically in mississippi south of tupelo and as far west as i-55. don't go outside for today. wolf, it's important to stay inside and hunker down in your safe spot. it could be deadly. >> potentially millions of americans in harm's way. jennifer, we'll get back to you shortly. these devastating tornadoes touching down today in mississippi. as you just heard, alabama, tennessee, maybe illinois, iowa, they are all in line as the severe weather continues to pummel the south, the midwest. we'll go live to the disaster zones. that's coming up. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been at the forefront of advanced electronics. providing technology to get more detail... ♪ detect hidden threats... ♪ see the whole picture... ♪ process critical information, and put it in the hands of our defenders.

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much more on the breaking tornado news in a few moments but first the storm battering the los angeles clippers. corporate sponsors are now fleeing the team because of racist remarks allegedly made by the owner donald sterling. suzanne malveaux is covering the story for us. this story is far from over. >> and the sponsors, it just grows and grows. the nba now planning a press conference to outline what is next after this day of fast-moving developments. a firestorm in the nba over what should happen now to l.a. clippers' owner donald sterling. today sponsors carmax and virgin america are cutting their ties with the team in response to racist remarks sterling allegedly made on tape.

doc rivers talked about the toll it is taking on his players. >> i can't tell you how upset i am, our players are. >> reporter: over the weekend tmz posted these recordings with his girlfriend v. stiviano. >> people call you and tell you that i have black people on my instagram and it bothers you. >> yeah, it bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. do you have to? you can do anything but don't put it on instagram so the world has to see it and they have to call me. don't bring them to my games, okay? >> reporter: the nba launched an expedited investigate and the outrage boiled over. first, with magic johnson. >> don't smile in my face, shake

my hand and then you don't really respect me or want me to be around or come to your games as the owner of the clippers. >> reporter: then, other nba stars. >> actions speak louder than words and mr. sterling's actions have been consistent. he doesn't really respect black >> reporter: on the court sunday the l.a. clippers turned their red jerseys inside out in protest. as word of the racist rant spread, it seemed like everyone had something to say, from president obama half a world away. >> when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk. >> reporter: to celebrities on social media. >> you racist piece of -- >> reporter: sports website dead spin released more of the ugly conversation. >> do you know you have a whole team that's black that plays for you? >> do i know? i support them and give them food and clothes and cars and

houses. who gives it to them? someone else gives it to them? >> today the naacp which was to present sterling with a lifetime achievement award in two weeks canceled that honor. the president of the los angeles chapter leon jenkins said there is a personal economic and social price that mr. sterling must pay for his attempt to turn back the clock on race relations. of course, the question is what kind of personal economic and social price would sterling pay in the first place? we're talking about some of those sponsorships that are disappearing. we are talking about at least half a dozen now additional ones including red bull, automaker, kia, amtrak. whether or not this really impacts a wealthy man like sterling, it's really questionable. >> he's issued a same, sterling, through the clippers, right? >> yeah. he has. he's issued a statement. the team saying, here, he says that mr. sterling is emphatic, that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings.

it is the antithesis for who he is. he apologizes to anybody who he offended including magic johnson. a lot of people believe it's not really accurate, that he's covering himself. >> thanks very much. suzanne malveaux. let's get more now. retired nba player kenny smith is joining us. he's an analyst for the nba on tnt, our sister network. thank you very much for coming in. what should the nba do? what can the nba do? >> well, i think the first thing is, you know, racism is really a refuge for ignorance and can't allow to have that with inside any business. forget the nba. from startup business to the nba. i think you can't have that inside of the work environment. because it affects so many people and so many levels and donald sterling has made a lot of money in the last years. not just in the nba but on the backs of a lot of californians that he wasn't practicing the

correct moral codes to make that happen. >> so what do you think the nba should do about this? >> well, i think the first thing is obviously the investigation which they're doing now to make sure that everything is accurate in that tape. this is not a sports issue. it's a mankind issue. it's a social issue. it's important that those statements are correct. the second part of that, if they are correct, move swiftly. we have labor laws within the nba that players and owners have to abide by and go by. you can't, even though if you're the owner of a team, you can't just do what you want with your team. there are labor laws in the united states. there are labor laws within inside the nba you have to confide to. a lot of people saying he's the owner of a team, but actually, you know, players over 50% of every team that they're on. they just can't play for 30 years like he has and be a

participant. but the player through the collective bargaining agreement have over 50% -- own 50% of the clippers anyway because the salaries that are made through the basketball revenue that comes in goes to the players. >> i want to bring suzanne back in for a moment. suzanne, you know he bought the clippers when they were in san diego 30-plus years ago for a few million dollars. if he sells the team now, in los angeles, he potentially could walk away with a billion dollars for that team. that's something that folks are thinking about right now. >> yeah, people are thinking about that. one of the things the naacp, egg on their face, some embarrassment out of los angeles when you had the chapter president saying this was a guy who's owned this team for 30 years. there are a lot of things he felt he was doing to contribute to the community. whether it was tickets or the kids to see the games, whether it was charities for the naacp. they're giving that money back. there's a lot of people who feel like this guy was in some way invested in the community but at the same time, he's going to come away with a lot of money.

>> how is this going to affect the clippers when they play the games in playoffs? >> mentally for sure as a player. you know, you're playing for an o that you thought was different. but i think it's a teaching tool not only for the players but society in general that, you know, and looking at the richness of money doesn't make you rich. so regardless if he makes $1 billion or anything else, he doesn't have the riches and the finances of everything else in his life. and that's what the real teaching tool is. what is richness? what is wealth? lastly, it's about inclusion, because, you know, when you include, that's when you see the faults in yourself. >> certainly. >> and you can change those things as well. this is a great teaching tool. not only for the clippers players, but society in general on what real wealth is and what real richness is and how to combat all of those things together. >> all right. kenny smith, suzanne malveaux, we'll have more on the story coming up. an awful story it is.

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happening now, breaking news. we're tracking new tornado sightings and warnings. as many as 24 million americans are at risk for life threatening storms. right now, some neighborhoods already have been wiped out. we have correspondents and storm chasers in the danger zone right now. plus this -- exploding

violence. y ukraine may be moving close tore an all-out war. the united states is taking new action. russia is vowing what they call a painful response. and the underwater search for flight 370 is getting larger and more intense. officials have revealed their new strategy, and one of the changes just went into effect. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news this hour. a tornado emergency. this was new video just coming into "the situation room." parts of mississippi in the bull's-eye. the storm is moving into alabama. we've been getting new reports

of twisters touching down including one that's at least a mile wide. the tupelo, mississippi, area, has been hard hit. forecasters are warning of a particularly dangerous situation across the south, moving into the midwest with wave after wave of life-threatening storms. at least 16 people have been killed within the past day, alone. our correspondents are in the danger zone. we're tracking every new tornado outbreak in the cnn severe weather center. let's check in with cnn's severe weather meteorologist jennifer gray. she's got the very latest. jennifer? >> yeah, wolf. we have seen a very, very powerful cell push through lewisville, mississippi, and have gotten reports of it up to a mile wide at some times. a very powerful tornado. it's moving off to the north and east. places like crawford and even starkville need to be on the lookout for this. especially if you're on the south side. this is one of the latest tornado warnings that we've seen, and if we can get it up here, we'll show you that it's

affecting these places like crawford, lewisville, you're on the backside of that. but as this storm continues, there we go, continues to push to the north and east, places like brooksville, lewisville, and that goes into effect until 5:30 central time. so, definitely be on the lookout for that. we're also going to see storms. if we zoom out just a little bit, you can see up to the north and east, we're also seeing some very powerful storms there. and we'll let you know exactly who. that tornado is in effect until 5:30 as well. monroe county. that's entering into alabama. we've had some very, very powerful storms, though already in alabama. and these are going to be pushing to the north and east as well. they're all moving at about 45 miles per hour. this one very important. just on the northwests side of huntsville, another tornado warning in effect on the northwest side of huntsville.

limestone county. in effect until 5:30 central time. cities like athens and elkmont. be very, very careful. go into your safe spot. fe these are going to be very, very powerful storms. they have a history of producing tornadoes. definitely not something you want to mess with. this is part of this larger system, wolf, this very dangerous situation as reported by the storm prediction center has labeled this as a particularly dangerous situation. these are the areas we're going to be focused on as we go throughout the rest of the fight. >> these are potentially killer storms. thanks very much, jennifer. we'll get back to you. we have some dramatic video from tupelo, mississippi. a tv meteorologist and his crew had to evacuate while he was reporting on the air. reporting on the tornado. watch this. >> you've got to be in your tornado safe place. we're still on the air. this is a tornado emergency for lee county. this is a tornado ripping through the city of tupelo as we speak. and this could be deadly. let's go tower cam.

there's a damaging tornado on the ground right now. the significant tornado touchdown. >> then he ran for cover like everyone else. more powerful images from tupelo area coming in as well. take a look at this clip from mississippi tv station. >> this is video from tupelo right now, and maybe dave and michael can help us with this. is this a wall cloud? or would this be an actual tornado? and, again, this is from the tupelo area. we're not seeing debris in this. we also had a picture from david kenny earlier today. what he said was a wall cloud in the yazoo county area. look, now we're seeing hail. now oo oyou can see the tornado form. see the tip of that. that is a massive tornado, it looks like, guys.

>> ferocious storm system is heading east. parts of alabama right now at risk. brian todd is hunkered down with emergency officials in birmingham, alabama. what's the latest there, brian? >> reporter: wolf, we're inside the emergency operation center for jefferson county. this covers birmingham and 34 other cities in this area. they're bracing for the same line of storms which is entering alabama now. two counties southwest of here have a tornado warning. public works and law enforcement officials here coordinating with others like them in the general area. they're monitoring that track of storms on the map right there. you can see that track is coming right toward where birmingham is. birmingham is the gray spotted area in the middle. these storms are coming right here. they're monitoring road conditions. they're bracing for this line of storms. i'm here with alan, emergency management director for jefferson county. what you tells people right now to do as this approaching? >> have a safety plan. go to your place of safety when the warns comes. helmet, portab

battery, flashlight and have a safety plan and place to go. >> reporter: what's the most common mistake people make in these situations? >> they run outside and want to see the storm. they don't go to their place of safety. >> reporter: thanks so much. food luck throughout the night as you monitor this storm. thanks very much. wolf, we're told schools have closed early in this general area of alabama. courts have shut down. they're telling people to get off the roads right now. they say -- i just spoke with the national weather service official. he said the roadways are the worst place to be if you're on the roads anywhere around birmingham, northwest alabama, get off and to a save place. they're also telling people, wolf, if you live in a manufactured home like a mobile home, get out of it, get to a more sturdy structure. >> good advice, brian. we'll get back to you. i want to go to jeremy holmes, a storm chaser in athens, alabama. what are you seeing now? >> right now i have heavy

rotation off to my west. i'm to the east of athens now. it's very rain wrapped what i've been seeing. according to radar, i should be looking at a very violent tornado any time now. visibility is very hard here at the moment. you've got heavy rain, almost foggy conditions, trees and bad terrain. according to what i'm seeing on radar, any second i should be seeing a very violent tornado. >> is it going to touch down based on what you see in a rural area or more urban area? >> it looks like probably west of athens where i was earlier when i was on the storm earlier. it's fairly heavy populated. over toward 65 it gets a little more sparsely populated. i'm on the east side of 65 right now. and there's homes and businesses here, but it's not densely populated, but there's definitely people at risk. there are still people out on the road right now. >> all tornadoes are devastating, but does this one seem to be particularly powerful? >> it definitely seems to be. i mean, from radar signature

right now, i'm actually starting to see rotating rain currents. it's got to be really close. may have to dive south a little bit to stay safe here. i would say it's got to be a strong tornado. just by radar signature. as of yet, i can't confirm, but there's -- i would say there's probably something definitely on the ground. >> is this the first one you've seen today, jeremy? >> yeah, it is. on i was the same storm system in tupelo and could not get a view of it. same scenario, very rain-wrapped system. and i know it did heavy damage over there. i just said, kept going east out of its path. i couldn't get any view in the trees and didn't want to get run over. very hard to chase in this part of the country. very dangerous situation. >> you're a professional storm chaser. so are you heading toward the storm right now? or are you driving away from it? >> no, right now i'm driving south a little bit because i was seeing rotating rain curtains and didn't want to get into the circulation. right now it looks like it's coming basically probably to my north-northwest it will pass me

right now. >> be careful over there. >> while i'm driving, i'm going to sit and watch it pass me here. it's moving very fast. >> be careful, jeremy. we'll check back with you. jeremy holmes a storm chaser outside of athens, alabama. martin is joining us now. you're close to tupelo. is that where you are in mississippi, martin? >> reporter: yeah, we are, wolf. we're in tupelo outright. we've been cruising through various neighborhoods that have suffered some damage. trees uprooted. homes suffering roof damage. power lines down. the biggest problem right now, wolf, is trying to navigate. most of the major arteries are clogged with traffic. primarily because of two things. trees came down with the high winds and the tornado, and also because you just have a lot of people that have come out to try to see if they can help or trying to get home to areas that have been heavily damaged and simply can't get into the neighborhoods. we have seen emergency crews out and about. police are trying to control the traffic right now, it's still immediately in the aftermath.

so there's a great sense of trying to figure out where are the worst-hit areas, where is the need greatest? we have actually seen -- i saw one guy being transported in the back of an open pickup truck. appeared he'd suffered some kind of shoulder swrinjury. we do know there are injuries and damage. trying to get to the hardest hit areas such as around the mall of tupelo, that's been extremely difficult for us. we continue to try to navigate through side streets to do it. >> and we're looking at live pictures from your vehicle. as you're doing that. i want you to be really careful over there. how far are you from that mall, that devastated area, the governor of mississippi spoke about it when we interviewed him in the last hour or so. how far are you from that area? . >> reporter: it's just literally a mile -- >> i think we've lost our connection with martin savidge. obviously totally understandable. he's driving in a devastated area in tupelo. he's heading toward that mall that was apparently devastated.

once he gets there, we'll try to reconnect with him. we heard from the governor. this is an awful, awful situation. let's continue our breaking news coverage. the scene of the tornado devastation in arkansas. where two children are among the dead. cnn's george howell is joining us from vilonia, arkansas. george, it was awful what happened in the area where you are. >> reporter: you know, what martin's dealing with right now, storm he's driving through, this community, they dealt with it just the other day. in full force. you look a truck here that is mangled. you look over here and can see that there are power poles that were knocked over. jordan, if we can pan out there. you an see there are cars, trucks, a semi truck tossed over like toys and back there an entire community that was destroyed. and now we see people digging through the debris. it happened just as the sun went down. a tornado ripped through the tiny town of vilonia, arkansas,

north of little rock leaving behind a path of widespread destruction. sirens sounded and people ran for shelter. >> it was huge. it was by far the biggest one i've ever seen. and not that i've seen that many, but, yeah, it was just a huge black cloud. >> then it just popped back up real quick and then i ran inside and about a minute, it was over. i come outside and what you see is what we have. >> reporter: this drone video shows homes and businesses ripped from their foundations. snapped trees and debris in downtown vilonia. the twister is the most powerful storm to hit the nation so far this year. at this hour, an intense search and rescue effort is under way in the hard-hit town. >> it is a slow profession because we've got people and dogs going through the rubble and trying to find whoever we can and whatever we can. >> reporter: crews are digging through debris trying to find survivors after sunday's storm. but search efforts could hampered. another round of severe weather is possible.

>> they did some search and rescue efforts very quickly and carefully, yes, but this morning, they started a very thorough and deliberate concentrated search and rescue effort. that's going to go through most of the day today. >> reporter: nearly 18,000 homes and businesses were without power monday in arkansas. most of them in faulkner county. >> we're going to experience gas leaks, power lines down. we have power out for most of the city now but you can never be too safe. >> reporter: vilonia was still recovering from deadly twister that hit almost exactly three years ago killing four people if town. many of the buildings destroyed last night had only recently been rebuilt. >> the really sad thing is there's a lot of homes that were hit this time and demolished that were the exact same homes that had just been rebuilt from the last tornado. >> reporter: george howell, cnn, vilonia, arkansas. so what we're watching right

now, people going through, these crews digging through the debris. folks are keeping an eye on the storms just east of us because they are hoping that they don't see the same damage. that they're spared the damage that we saw here. wolf? >> all right, george, thanks. we'll check back with you as well. devastating situation there in arkansas. we'll have more of the breaking news coming up. we're following the tornadoes, the thunderstorms ripping across mississippi, now alabama. new images, new information coming in to "the situation room." our correspondents, they are standing by. they are all right in the middle of all of this. >> we're not seeing debris in this. we also had a picture from david kenny earlier today what he said was a wall. ♪ ♪ ♪

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we're continuing the breaking news. horrible, horrible weather conditions. severe, severe storms, tornadoes, ripping through mississippi as we speak right now. they're moving elsewhere toward alabama. they're also moving toward the midwest including in illinois. that's where we find storm chaser ben mcmillan near springfield, illinois, right now? >> yes, we're leaving springfield heading east out of town trying to stay ahead of this strong line of storms which is impacting the st. louis and springfield area. >> southern illinois. so tell us what you're seeing right now. these are live pictures you're showing our viewers. >> we've had a lot of heavy rain which is causing a lot of flooding on the roadways. we've had several motorists pulling over because the visibility is getting very poor at times. no tornadoes yet in our area of the country. however, we're monitoring the storm system very closely if that does happen. >> have authorities in illinois issued some formal alert, some

warnings out there? >> yeah. they're advising severe thunderstorm warnings right now. just letting people know about 60 to 70 mile an hour winds ahead of this system. that's been the main threat thus far. >> we've been told that 1.4 million people in these areas are at high risk, 2.5 million are at moderate risk, 45 million are at slight risk areas as far as tornadoes are concerned. do you have a sense of in southern illinois how risky it is right now? >> it's definitely not a good time of day to be out. usually hours between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the storm das are not a safe time to be out unless you have emergency business that requires you to be out on the roads. >> ben mcmillan, we'll check back with you. he's a storm chaser in southern illinois right now. ominous images. let's go back to jennifer gray at the cnn severe weather center for the latest forecast. new information, jennifer, coming in? >> yeah. new information across northern alabama. this is a life threatening

situation. you need to take very, very seriously. this tornado warning for limestone and madison counties, affecting athens and hazel green until 5:45 p.m. this has a history of producing very dangerous and violent storms. that's tracked from the south and west. and this has the capability of producing a very large and violent tornado. in fact, this is one of those cells we believe there's a tornado on the ground. it will affect areas just to the north of huntsville. so if you live just outside huntsville, alabama, on the north side of the city, this is a storm where you need to take seriously. take shelter immediately. this is very, very dangerous. limestone county until 5:30 central time. also elkmont, you need to be on the lookout for this. one of other things we look at when looking a the possibility of a tornado on the ground is velocity. and i'm going to circle right where it looks like that tornado is. and you can see just to the northeast of athens. this is pulling this direction

at about 45 miles per hour. and that is a very strong signature. so that's why we are urging people to get in your safe spot until this is over. wolf, this could be a very large tornado on the ground. >> these next few hours are critical. jennifer gray, thanks very much. we'll check back with you. once again, the breaking news this hour. millions of people across the south, the midwest, they are preparing now for very dangerous weather. widespread tornadoes. >> we also had a picture from david kenny earlier today. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been on the forefront of innovation. when the world called for speed... ♪ ...when the world called for stealth... ♪ ...intelligence...

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"crossfire" won't be seen tonight so we can bring you more of our special coverage of the deadly tornado outbreak. we're also following other breaking stories right now. i want to go back right to jennifer gray at the cnn severe weather center. i know that more information is coming in and it isn't good. what's the latest, jennifer? >> yeah, this is a potentially deadly situation going on in northern alabama. we have a very strong storm that's pushing to the north and east. it is producing a possible very large tornado, and it's possibly on the ground as we speak. so if you're in the path of this storm, you need to get to your safe spot immediately. limestone and madison counties in northern alabama. athens and hazelgreen. look at the proximity to huntsville. this is just north of huntsville, alabama. this is a tornado emergency. it i