A driver in Missouri is lucky to be alive after being trapped in the center of a tornado and capturing the moment in a terrifying video.
A storm system crossing the US on Friday (March 14) has caused significant damage to areas and resulted in the death of at least three people.
More than a dozen tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Arkansas, and threats of more loomed for the Mississippi Valley into the night and the Deep South on Saturday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has already confirmed that at least three individuals have died in three separate car crashes due to the low visibility.
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Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety added that the situation currently was a ‘nightmare’.
One driver is very lucky to not be among those who have died as a video showed just how close he came to death.
The video, which has begun to circulate on social media, shows two men sat in a car as powerful gusts of wind blow by them.
Eventually the winds begin to pick up with the pair agreeing that the tornado is right on top of them and that they are in the center of it.
Those who have had to be out in these conditions have spoken of the fear for their safety.
Truck driver Charles Daniel, who has been hauling a 48-foot trailer along Interstate 40 in western Oklahoma, said: “This is terrible out here.
“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 Oklahoma Highway Patrol Twitter page confirmed multiple semis have already been overturned due to the intense weather.
Sharing images of them, they added: “We are working several overturned semis across the state. This one is on US 183 just south of Hobart. We have also suspended the transportation of oversized loads in many counties to try and prevent situations like this one.”
Forecasters have said the intense weather is expected to continue through the weekend with some areas more at risk than others.
The Storm Prediction Center has said parts of Mississippi including Jackson and Hattiesburg and areas of Alabama including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa will be at a high risk.
As well as this, severe storms and tornadoes are also possible across eastern Louisiana, western Georgia, central Tennessee and the western Florida Panhandle.
Gerrard Kaonga