MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By TOM BREEN and MIKE BAKER (AP) – “RALEIGH, N.C. – A furious storm system that kicked up tornadoes, flash floods and hail as big as softballs has claimed at least 35 lives on a rampage that began in Oklahoma days ago, then smashed across several Southern states as it reached a new and deadly pitch in North Carolina and Virginia.

Emergency crews searched for victims in hard-hit swaths of North Carolina, where 62 tornadoes were reported from the worst spring storm in two decades to hit the state. Ten people were confirmed dead in Bertie County, county manager Zee Lamb said. At least three deaths were reported in Virginia. Authorities warned the toll was likely to rise further Sunday as searchers probed shattered homes and businesses.

The storm claimed its first lives Thursday night in Oklahoma, then roared through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Seven people each were killed in Arkansas and Alabama, two people in Oklahoma and one person in Mississippi, authorities have said.” Read more.

Update 2: “(CNN) — Powerful storms that have ripped across the Southeast killed as many as 44 people over the past three days, according to National Weather Service and reports from several states.

There were 14 deaths in Bertie County, North Carolina, a rural area in the northeast part of the state, the weather service said Sunday. Although the weather service reported that number, local authorities said they were still working to determine the exact number of deaths.

“Reports are still incoming,” Mike Sprayberry, deputy director of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, told CNN.

The death toll across seven states includes 23 total in North Carolina; four in Virginia; seven in Alabama, two in Olkahoma, seven in Arkansas and one in Mississippi.”  Read more.

Update 3: “From Thursday, April 14, 2011 to Saturday, April, 16, 2011, devastating tornadoes rampaged across communities of the southern United States. Cities and towns from Oklahoma to North Carolina were assaulted by the deadly twisters.

The tornado outbreak led to a total of 241 tornado reports in 14 states over the three-day period. This will likely rank this tornado outbreak among the largest in history.”  Read more.