The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center warned of "near historic" fire conditions in the Plains.

Aaron Ward, a meteorologist with the Weather Service office in Amarillo said visibility was “nearly zero” in the greater Amarillo region. The Texas Department of Public Safety said it was responding to multiple crashes across the region because of low visibility from clouds of dust.

In some extreme cases, thunderstorms can spawn a derecho, a long-lived windstorm with gusts over 100 mph, strong enough to cause widespread destruction. If a severe thunderstorm warning mentions damaging winds or a derecho, take cover immediately—just as you would for a tornado.

The threat of tornadoes is moving east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South a day after a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up dust storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned more