Tornadoes killed at least five people in central Oklahoma, including a mother and her baby, before the storm system moved northeast earlier today, June 1.
The National Weather Service said the severe weather threat would move to Illinois and Missouri this weekend, where Governor Jay Nixon has declared "a state of emergency" as of May 31.
The tornadoes struck just 11 days after an EF5, the most powerful ranking possible, twister tore through a local suburb and killed at least 24 people according to Reuters.
"For reasons that are not clear to me, more people took to the roads, more than we expected. Everyone acted differently in this storm, and as a result, it created an extremely dangerous situation," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett according to Reuters.
The mother and baby were killed on May 31 while driving on I-40, just west of Oklahoma City, when their vehicle was picked up by the storm and they were sucked out of it, said Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The interstate was shut down due to the storm, but not before a number of crashes took place, leaving an undisclosed amount of people injured.
Two of the five deaths in Oklahoma on Friday occurred in Union City and one was in El Reno, in rural areas west of Oklahoma City, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Elliott could not confirm where the other deaths took place according to Reuters.
At least 40 people have been treated for storm-related injuries, including five in critical condition according to the Oklahoma-based Integris Health hospital system.
Meteorologists had earlier declared a tornado emergency for parts of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, and at one point they posted a tornado warning for Moore.
A tornado made its way down I-40 toward Oklahoma City, "tipping over trucks and hurling hay bales," a witness said according to Reuters. Downed power lines and tossed cars could be seen on live television reports covering the storm, which dumped at least 3 inches of rain.
"I think we are still a little shaken by what happened in Moore. We are still burying children and victims, so our emotions are still strong," said Cornett according to Reuters.
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