Morning Express with Robin Meade

Tornadoes ripped apart homes and knocked down trees in at least two states on Wednesday, but the threat of severe weather is far from over.

There was damage all over the St. Louis, Missouri, area. A tornado damaged at least 24 homes and left thousands of people in the dark in the suburb of Hazelwood.

A powerful tornado dropped out of the sky about an hour north of Atlanta Wednesday and a TV reporter was standing right there with his cell phone camera recording as it happened. The tornado flipped dozens of cars when it crossed Interstate 75 nearby.

Up to 100 homes were damaged. The roof of a manufacturing plant in Adairsville, Georgia was ripped off while workers hid in a kitchen and bathroom inside.

Heads up for severe storms Tuesday afternoon and night in the mid-Mississippi valley.

A strong storm system with cold air and lots of energy is rolling out of the Rockies and will run straight into a warm and humid air mass to the east. Tornado watches were hoisted Tuesday morning over Oklahoma and Kansas, and they now stretch to Arkansas. The main tornado threat will most likely be from late afternoon into the night in Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.

A winter storm that stretches from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico has spawned a possible tornado in Mobile, Alabama. 

Blizzard warnings popped up in parts of Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska and as far west as Colorado. But snow is only part of the problem. 

The recent tornadoes in the Dallas, Texas area are a reminder that we are in severe weather season. Here are more facts about tornadoes, nature's most violent storms.

Tornado Facts (noaa):

Last week's tornado outbreak was deadly and unusual in it's size and intensity for the month of March. Over a hundred tornadoes were reported on Friday alone! Confirmed tornadoes on March 2nd were at 43 at the time I'm writing this, but that compare that to approximate average of number of March tornadoes that occur for the entire month - around 50.

Depending on where you live in the US your peak "tornado season" may vary. (Note: tornadoes can and do happen year-round.) According to NOAA, "the frequency of tornadoes in the United States is closely tied with the progression of the warm season when warm and cold air masses often clash. Most of the early spring tornadoes in the U.S. tend to occur in the Southeast and South Central regions. Gulf States, such as Mississippi and Louisiana are the frequent recipients of tornadoes from February to April. Late spring tornadoes generally spread a bit farther north, often into Kansas, Nebraska and the Tennessee Valley region. By mid-summer, most of Tornado Alley is active and tornadoes may occur throughout the U.S. Late summer tends to bring some of the stronger tornadoes into the upper Midwest and Ohio valleys..."