A deadly tornado outbreak ripped through Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Mississippi overnight Friday, leaving destruction, power outages and tragic loss in its wake.

Officials confirmed Saturday at least 13 people are dead after multiple storms tore through Missouri and Arkansas.

Abe Cook, the director of an emergency management agency in Franklin County, Missouri, discusses the widespread damage from severe weather and tornadoes across the state.

Multiple tornadoes struck northeastern Arkansas late Friday, according to reports from the National Weather Service.

Thousands of power outages were reported Saturday as a deadly severe weather outbreak moved across the Midwest and South.

The most fatalities were in Missouri. Forecasters warned that tornadoes, hail and violent winds continue to threaten states in the Deep South, from Louisiana to Georgia.

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.