"The scale of devastation across our state is staggering," Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said. "While we grieve the lives of those lost, we are also focused on action."

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states.

At least 42 people are dead after a weekend of dynamic storms unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust and wildfires — leaving behind uprooted trees and flattening hundreds of homes and businesses across eight U.

A series of storms that kicked up wildfires, tornadoes and dust while barreling across seven states over the weekend have left at least 39 people dead and dozens injured. Scattered tornadoes in Missouri killed at least a dozen people,