Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Ed Zurga / EPA

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead as the threat of further storms continues.

Launch slideshow

Tornado warnings were in effect all over the map on Tuesday, with areas from the Midwest to the Northeast being advised to take precautions during what was another day of wild and severe weather.

There were no significant tornado threats overnight, but parts of the country may be in danger of seeing twisters Wednesday afternoon, Weather Channel meteorologist Carl Parker said.  However it is unlikely that any potential tornadoes formed in the next 24 hours would be anywhere near the size of the one that ravaged Oklahoma on Monday, according to Parker.

Ohio and areas near the Great Lakes are most at risk of damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes on Wednesday, according to The Weather Channel.

More from weather.com

It is better news than Tuesday, when 9.5 million people were in danger of experiencing "large and devastating" tornadoes as the deadly storm system moved east, forecasters warned.

And it was not just contained to Tornado Alley. Areas of western Massachusetts and Connecticut as well as eastern New York State also were issued tornado warnings Tuesday evening.

While many of these places have been experiencing strong winds and rain, none reported any twisters.

Tornado watches were in effect for portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri and Tennessee until 11 p.m. ET. Eastern Texas, central Louisiana and Mississippi were issued a severe thunderstorm warning going into Wednesday morning.

Severe rain and flooding caused havoc throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area Tuesday afternoon. Area schools let out early and even the Dallas zoo closed to protect animals and visitors.

Weather Channel forecaster Bill Karins said the upcoming holiday weekend may provide some relief.

"An early look at Memorial Day weekend shows that most of the country should be quiet. The stormiest weather appears to be across the Plains and Midwest with scattered showers and thunderstorms," he said.

• Full coverage of the Oklahoma tornadoes from NBC News
• More news from weather.com

This story was originally published on Wed May 22, 2013 12:03 AM EDT

Kael Alford/NBC News

Leslie Hendricks, 27, and her father, Levi Hendricks Sr., 53, hold their dogs they rescued from the rubble of their house in Moore, Okla., on Tuesday.

MOORE, Okla. – In the rubble of their flattened home, under a car and in a smashed kennel, were the two remaining members of the Hendricks' family: a pair of chihuahuas, Lola and Louie, who survived the monster tornado that struck this Oklahoma town.

Levi, his wife Alice and two of their adult children rushed to their home early Tuesday to this tornado-torn corner of Moore to find their beloved dogs. Cadaver dogs checking their neighbor's house swooped into help.

The Hendricks had found Wiley, their doberman, and Gaby, their boxer, in the backyard earlier. They were under a pile of debris, nestled under the apparent shelter of a picnic table.

“They come out with not a scratch … they were perfectly protected,” Levi said.

But the chihuahuas were stuck inside the house when the killer twister roared through Moore. Lola and Louie were trapped.

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Ed Zurga / EPA

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 people dead as the threat of further storms continues.

Launch slideshow

“They could hear whining and that's how we pinpointed where they were at and started digging at that point,” Levi said, at times wiping at tears.

“Their kennel was smashed down on top of them. The car was sitting on top of the kennel. We had to pry the kennel out from underneath the car and then pry the kennel apart to get them out.”

Levi and his two sons began digging through the rubble to get the beloved pets out. But on the inside, the animals – Louie, a white-fur 3-year-old, and Lola, a black-fur 2-year-old – were just fine.

“They were both wrapped around each other and inside a comforter. They were toasty warm,” Levi said. “And both of them were just tickled to death to get out.”

“They could smell him and hear him,” he said of the cadaver dogs as he cuddled Louie, who shivered and chowed on a breakfast burrito that one of Levi's sons, Levi III, fed him.

“I've got to say God put his hand out and covered both of them,” the elder Levi said as he broke down. 

The couple, who had lived in the home for six years, were at work when the tornado struck. They said their granddaughter, a student at Plaza Towers elementary, where seven children died in the tornado on Monday, also emerged unscathed from the debris, with some scratches on her feet and gravel in her hair. 

They may be able to salvage some items from the garage, but everything else was gone.

“It flattened everything. … There is not really anything left of the house that is even recognizable,” Levi said. As to the future, he said, “I'm just going to leave it in God's hands.”

“The fact that my Bible was fully intact gives me something to hold onto,” his wife, Alice, said. “My Bible says it all.”

Related stories:

Crews comb devastation in Oklahoma

First-person accounts from survivors

Why Tornado Alley is a target

Share your stories of heroism in Oklahoma

Courtesy Angela Hornsby

Ja'Nae Hornsby, 9, (right) with her cousin Taylor, 14, in a photo taken over the weekend.

A 9-year-old girl who was "always smiling" is among the first of the Oklahoma tornado victims to be identified.

Third-grader Ja'Nae Hornsby was one of the students who perished when the twister demolished Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. on Monday afternoon.

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has released the names of seven people killed in Monday's storm: Hornsby, 65-year-old Hemant Bhonde and Kyle Davis, Sydney Angle, Megan Futrell, Case Futrell and Antonia Lee Candelaria. The medical examiner confirmed the victims' names but has not released all of their ages.

Members of Hornsby's grieving family gathered Tuesday at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other after a night of anxious waiting ended with a hope-shattering call from the medical examiner's office.

Her aunt, Angela Hornsby, said Ja'Nae had spent last weekend at her house, playing with her cousins and “doing what little girls do.”

“They like to play dress-up,” she recalled. “My daughter puts jewelry on them and I took pictures of them dancing together and they took video. They were just happy.

"She was always happy, always smiling."

Courtesy Angela Hornsby

Ja'Nae Hornsby, 9, with her 2-year-old sister Jia, in a photo taken over the weekend.

On Monday, Ja'Nae went off to Plaza Towers Elementary School while her father, Joshua, headed into Oklahoma City for work.

As the tornado bore down on the suburb of Moore just before dismissal time, the father of two tried to race back home to get Ja'Nae from school and his two-year-old, Jia, from daycare, Angela Hornsby said.

The highways were jammed, though, and by the time he got to Moore, the grade school had been reduced to a pile of rubble, its parking lot transformed into a triage area for surviving students being pulled from the debris.

There was no sign of Ja'Nae, though. Her father and other relatives shuttled from shelter to shelter, “looking for answers,” Angela Hornsby said. She dialed all the hospitals that had taken the injured but could not find her niece.

As night fell, Joshua Hornsby went to St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, where a dwindling number of parents waiting for reunions were camped out.

“He would not leave until he found out what happened to his baby,” his sister said. “They received a call while they were at the church this morning.

“My sister called to tell me. They were just sobbing.”

Joshua Hornsby also lost his house to the twister. His youngest child, who was picked up from daycare by her grandmother, survived.

Ja'Nae, whose mother died last year of lupus, had doted on her baby sister, family members said.

“She was a good big sister,” her aunt said, her voice cracking with emotion. “She was just a good girl.”

Pastor James Dorn Jr. of Mount Triumph Baptist Church said he had watched Ja'Nae grow up because her grandfather, Henry Hornsby, used to be the associate pastor there.

Courtesy Bhonde family

Hemant Bhonde, 65, died after a tornado struck Moore, Okla., on May 21.

Like everyone else, he remembered her as full of joy.

“She was a beautiful child to be around, someone you feel privileged to know,” he said. "She did well in school. She was just awesome."

Officials in Moore late Tuesday also identified Bhonde as a victim of the tornado.

His family members told NBC News that Bhonde became separated from his wife when the tornado hit their home. His wife survived.

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Ed Zurga / EPA

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead as the threat of further storms continues.

Launch slideshow

NBC News' Jamie Novogrod contributed to this story

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 9:12 PM EDT

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Destroyed vehicles lie in the rubble outside the Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore, Okla., on Tuesday.

Launch slideshow

As evening drew to a close in Oklahoma, after a day of tireless searching for survivors among the debris left behind by a powerful tornado, officials said the operation could end by nightfall Tuesday.

"We will be through every damaged piece of property in this city at least three times before we're done and we hope to be done by dark tonight," Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird said at a news conference.

Emergency crews and National Guard troops picked through neighborhoods without recognizable streets in a grim, house-by-house search of the blasted-out husk of a city left behind by the ferocious tornado.

Authorities lowered the death toll to 24, less than half the figure they gave in the initial chaos after the twister, but there was still no full accounting of those missing. Nine of the confirmed dead were children, including seven in a flattened elementary school.

Four bodies were recovered, including a 3-month-old baby, at a local 7-Eleven.

Working with search dogs and under menacing skies, the crews meticulously combed the rubble in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, which took a direct hit when the tornado cut a 17-mile path of destruction on Monday afternoon.

Dozens of people were pulled from the wreckage in the initial hours after the storm, but there were no reports of additional survivors found Tuesday — only scraps of wood, shreds of clothing, shards of glass and metal and cars crumpled into each other and into buildings. Entire stretches of Moore looked as if they had been put through a blender.

“I mean, there’s nothing,” said Robert Foster, whose family home was destroyed. “People are walking up and down the streets. It’s really upsetting to look at. We grew up there. That’s our whole childhood. And it’s all flattened now.”

Gov. Mary Fallin said there were 237 injured, but authorities cautioned that figure and the death toll could still rise. Even with the benefit of a full day’s light, people were only beginning to grasp the scope of the destruction in Moore and parts of Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma University Medical Center admitted 59 children and 34 adults.

The National Weather Service said survey crews had found at least one area of Category EF5 damage — the highest classification for tornadoes, meaning winds had exceeded 200 mph.

Frank Keating, a former Oklahoma governor, said on MSNBC that as many as 20,000 families could be displaced.

“This was the storm of storms,” Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said.

The first of the victims was publicly identified — Ja’Nae Hornsby, a third-grader who was killed when the tornado demolished Plaza Towers Elementary School. She was remembered by her family Tuesday as full of joy and fond of playing dress-up. Her relatives gathered at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other.

A second victim, Hemant Bhonde, 65, became separated from his wife when the tornado struck their home, his family told NBC News. Bhonde's body was recovered Tuesday, hospital officials said. His wife survived.

Tannen Maury / EPA

Firefighters examine the rubble of a home in a destroyed neighborhood in Moore.

As they took the measure of what they had lost, people in Moore also marveled that they were alive, and began to share stories of survival and of how they protected each other when the twister struck, announcing itself with roaring wind.

Children from Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children were reported drowned in a pool of water, told of hearing sirens and running into a hall for cover, some still carrying their math books.

A teacher, Rhonda Crosswhite, said she huddled with students in a bathroom stall and draped herself over them for cover as the storm hit.

“One of my little boys, he just kept saying, ‘I love you, I love you, please don’t die with me, please don’t die with me,’” she told TODAY. “But we’re OK. And we made it out, and it finally stopped.”

She said all her students were accounted for.

Damian Britton, a fourth-grader, credited “Miss Crosswhite” with saving his life. He estimated it took about five minutes for the twister to pass through before the students emerged from cover to survey the damage and check on their classmates.

“It was just a disaster,’’ he said. “There was just a bunch of stuff thrown around and the cars were tipped over, and it smelled like gas.”

At an afternoon news conference, Bird said that search dogs were no longer “making any hits” at the school. He said no one had been found there Tuesday but cautioned that the search was still active.

“They will not declare that structure clear until they are down to the ground and have been through every piece of rubble in that building,” he said.

One child was killed at Briarwood Elementary School, elsewhere in Moore, said police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis. There was no word on how the ninth child died. Besides the 19 deaths in Moore, five were killed in southern neighborhoods of Oklahoma City.

Charlie Riedel / AP

Zac Woodcock salvages items from the rubble of a tornado-ravaged rental home in Moore.

Authorities said they hoped to have every home, business and car in Moore searched by nightfall. They worked under the threat of still more severe weather. Forecasters said parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including Dallas, were at risk for more tornadoes.

The tornado Monday spent 40 minutes on the ground, said Rick Smith of the National Weather Service.

“We’ve seen numerous structures that are wiped clean to the foundation,” he said.

Smith said that the first severe thunderstorm warning had gone out 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, and the first tornado warning 16 minutes ahead. The weather service said the storm, at its widest, stretched 1.3 miles.

President Barack Obama called it “one of the most destructive tornadoes in history.” Speaking from the White House, he pledged the full help of the federal government and said there was no time to waste.

“In an instant, neighborhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured, and among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew, their school,” he said. “So our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today.”

Fallin, after a helicopter tour that traced the tornado’s path, said searchers were having trouble because “the streets are just gone. The signs are just gone.”

Expressions of grief and support came from across the world. Pope Francis said on Twitter: “I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children. Join me in praying for them.”

Queen Elizabeth II extended her deepest sympathies, and House Speaker John Boehner ordered flags at the Capitol to half-staff.

Relief efforts sprang up. The NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and its star player, Kevin Durant, each pledged $1 million. Others helped as they could: Miles from Moore, people went on Facebook to post family photos that had landed in their yards, hoping to match them with their owners.

Aerial pictures of the destruction brought to mind Joplin, the Missouri town virtually wiped off the map two years ago when an EF5 tornado killed 158 people and caused $2.8 billion in damage.

The twister cut a path similar to a tornado outbreak that ravaged Oklahoma and Kansas on May 3, 1999, killing 46 people and damaging or destroying more than 8,000 homes. Wind in that outbreak was clocked at 318 mph, the fastest ever recorded on earth.

Officials in Moore complained earlier this year about foot-dragging by the federal government over $2 million in federal grants for “safe rooms” in 800 homes to protect them from severe weather.

A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency told NBC News the agency was looking into the claim.

The city’s website also said, however, that Moore faced only a 1 to 2 percent chance of a tornado on any spring day, and that if a tornado did strike, there was less than a 1 percent chance that it would be as strong as the 1999 tornado.

Monday’s storm beat those odds. Alfredo Corrales and Viviana Lune rode it out in a shelter beneath their house. Corrales told TODAY that they had hunkered down there and heard voices above, and popped open the door to find several neighbors asking to come in.

The wind was so strong, Corrales said, that he and a neighbor had to hold the cellar door shut. When they emerged, they found a rewritten landscape.

“I saw basically nothing,” Luna said. “There were no fences there anymore, trees were snapped in half, roofs of houses were gone. Everything from people’s houses and even from neighborhoods across the street was laying in our yards. Half of the roof is torn off, the garage is caved in — it's just a total mess.”

More on the Oklahoma tornado:

How to help Oklahoma tornado victims

Tornado survivors: A 48-hour window of opportunity

‘The school started coming apart’: Trapped students had nowhere to hide

‘Bless you for posting’: Facebook group reunites tornado victims with photos, documents

Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley's past and future

NBC News' Jeff Black, Tracy Connor, Becky Bratu and Kristen Welker contributed to this report, as did NBC News contributor Alex Hannaford and The Associated Press.

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 8:55 PM EDT

Related:
'Major damage' as huge tornado slams Oklahoma

US Army

Army Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts.

Army Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, located in Fort Jackson, S.C., is being investigated for adultery and for being involved in a physical altercation, the Army announced Tuesday. Roberts has been suspended from his duties.

The altercation allegedly involved Roberts and an unidentified woman he is now being investigated for having an affair with, a U.S. military official told NBC News. The two were apparently involved in a recent argument. While making up, Roberts allegedly bit the woman’s lip, causing her to seek medical help.

The Command and Staff page on Fort Jackson’s website showed a vacant spot under Commanding General on Tuesday evening.

While the investigation is ongoing, Brig. Gen. Peggy Combs, Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, will serve as the interim commander.

jackson.army.mil

A screen shot shows Fort Jackson's senior leadership. The commanding general is notably no longer included on the page.

The Peace Corps will now start taking applications from same-sex partners who want to serve together overseas.

Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said Tuesday opening up to same-sex domestic partners will diversify the pool of applicants for the volunteer force, which serves overseas in a variety of projects, including education, health, economic development, environment and agriculture.

Married heterosexual couples, which make up about 7 percent of assignments, have been serving in the Peace Corps since it began in 1961, she said. Same-sex couples can start applying on June 3.

"Service in the Peace Corps is a life-defining leadership experience for Americans who want to make a difference around the world," Hessler-Radelet said in a statement. "I am proud that the agency is taking this important step forward to allow same-sex domestic partners to serve overseas together."

Same-sex couples wishing to join will be required to sign an affidavit to verify their relationship.

Though many countries that host Peace Corps volunteers have laws forbidding same-sex relationships, the Peace Corps promised to provide “safe and productive assignments.”

Peace Corps assignments for same-sex couples are new but homosexual individuals have been serving in the Peace Corps since its beginning, according an association formed for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender alumni of the corps.

The U.S. Peace Corps  was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and since then more than 210,000 Americans have volunteered for service in 71 host countries

By Clara Moskowitz
Space.com

The progress of Monday's disastrous tornado in Oklahoma was caught from space by satellites in orbit.

The GOES-13 satellite, which is operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, imaged the movement of storm systems in the south-central United States between Sunday and Monday, including the storm that sparked a tornado in Moore, Okla., estimated to be an EF-4 in strength, on Monday at 2:56 p.m. CT (3:56 p.m. ET).

The tornado barreled through Moore, a city of about 55,000 residents in the Oklahoma City metro area, with winds that were estimated at between 166 and 200 mph (267 and 322 kilometers per hour). Dozens were killed, and property was destroyed along a 20-mile-long (32-kilometer-long) stretch of land. The system that generated that twister can be seen toward the end of the tornado video footage provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite also caught sight of the storm clouds that generated the Moore tornado, in an image captured at 2:40 p.m. CT (3:40 p.m. ET).

The GOES-13 video shows storm systems that sparked other tornadoes in the Midwest from Monday afternoon into the evening. Several separate tornadoes developed in Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma, and the storms ran along an extended path from Texas up through Minnesota. 

Residents in Moore, the worst-hit city, were warned of the possibility of tornadoes for days in advance by local National Weather Service offices; a tornado warning was issued 16 minutes before the tornado actually formed. This was the fourth tornado in 14 years to strike the town of Moore directly.

Jeff Schmaltz / NASA / LANCE / EOSDIS

This image from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite, captured at 2:40 p.m. local time Monday, shows the supercell thunderstorm that spawned a devastating tornado. The red line indicates the track of the twister that hit Moore, Okla.

NASA / NOAA

A nighttime image from the Suomi NPP satellite shows the lights of Oklahoma City and the huge clouds of a thunderstorm, with lightning flashes recorded as squarish blocks of light within the clouds.

Hours after the tornado hit, the Suomi NPP satellite provided nighttime imagery of the Oklahoma City area, showing that the storm was still powerful. One image shows lightning flashing at 2:27 a.m. CT (3:27 a.m. ET). The pictures from the Suomi NPP satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite showed city lights in the area, but there was reduced light output in Moore as a result of tornado damage. 

This report was updated by NBC News Digital. Follow Clara Moskowitz on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

• Oklahoma Tornadoes Seen From Space | Time-Lapse Video
• Image Gallery: Moore, Okla., Tornado Damage - May 20, 2013
• The Top 5 Deadliest Tornado Years in U.S. History
• Oklahoma Tornado - 'This Is War Zone Terrible' | Video

Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 1:04 PM EDT

Paul Hellstern/The Oklahoman, NewsOk.com

Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school in Moore, Okla., after a tornado destroyed the school Monday.

Heroic action was in no short supply Monday as a massive tornado blazed a trail of destruction through Moore, Okla.

Did you witness ordinary people doing extraordinary things? Share your stories, photos and video with us by email, or on Twitter using hashtag #OKheroes -- but only if it is safe to do so. Selected responses may be used in an upcoming story.

Google

Google's Crisis Response Center provides information and compiles resources to aid tornado survivors and their loved ones.

In the aftermath of one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history, many are desperately trying to reach loved ones in areas affected by the disastrous event. Google and the Red Cross are helping confirm the safety of tornado survivors, while the Oklahoma Humane Society and Reddit users band together to take care of missing pets.

Google Crisis Response Center and Person Finder
Google has set up a Crisis Response Center page on which it provides shelter information, weather reports, public alerts and links to a variety of resources to aid those in or around the towns of Moore, Newcastle and southern portions of Oklahoma City. The search giant has also enabled the Google Person Finder tool at a plain and simple-to-use site for sharing and gathering information about those missing after the tornado. The tool was originally created after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

As with previous versions of the tool, all someone needs to do is enter as much of a person's name as he or she knows and Google will provide any related information — including last known location, physical descriptions, last reported status and messages left by those searching for the individual.

Those seeking to add information to the database will need to provide the full name of the individual they've got information about, as well as their own names and e-mail addresses.

The American Red Cross' 'Safe and Well'
The American Red Cross' "Safe and Well" page is also serving as a way to confirm that loved ones are doing all right. It functions similarly to the Google Person Finder, but instead focuses on individuals listing themselves as "safe and well," in addition to letting others search for loved ones.

Oklahoma Humane Society
Efforts are being made to ensure that pets make their ways home safely as well. The Oklahoma Humane Society is doing its best to house and treat lost and injured animals. The organization's Development Office, which is collecting donations for a disaster relief fund, can be reached at (405) 607-8991.

Reddit
Reddit users are banding together to keep track of lost and found pets in the town of Moore. Photos of, and information about, lost and found animals is easily searchable on the site.

Facebook
A Facebook page, May 19th 2013 OK Tornado Doc & Picture Recovery, is helping unite photos and documents scattered by the tornado with survivors. 

Related:

• Full coverage of Oklahoma tornadoes
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• How to help tornado victims

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

High-speed train service into and from New York City halted by a derailment and collision Friday in Connecticut will resume Tuesday afternoon, Amtrak announced.

Amtrak will resume service between New York and New Haven, Conn., with the departure of Acela Express train 2171, leaving Boston at 3:15 p.m., and Acela Express train 2166 departing New York at 4 p.m.

Sixty people were injured, five of them critically, and rail traffic from New York to Boston was shut down after a Metro-North commuter train derailed and plowed into a second train Friday in Fairfield, Conn.

An eastbound train derailed at 6:10 p.m. ET and struck a westbound train between the Fairfield and Bridgeport stations, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority official told NBC News.

The accident led to the shutdown of service and huge disruption for commuters north and east of New York.

AFP – Getty Images, file

A federal magistrate has agreed to delay a probable cause hearing for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The judge overseeing the government's prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving defendant in the Boston Marathon bombing case, has agreed to delay the next step in the case for roughly a month.

A probable cause hearing had been scheduled for May 30, but federal prosecutors and lawyers for Tsarnaev asked Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to delay it until July 2, citing what they called "the complex factual and legal issues present in this case and the need for adequate time to obtain and review evidence."

Such hearings are intended to determine whether the government has a strong enough case to continue legal proceedings. In practice, they seldom happen, either because the defendant waives the right to the hearing or because a grand jury issues an indictment before the hearing and the case moves on to arraignment and trial.

Under normal circumstances, the government must issue an indictment within 30 days of arrest, which would have been May 19 in Tsarnaev's case, but no indictment  been issued. The U.S. attorney's office in Boston would not cite a specific reason, but a spokesman noted that federal rules permit a delay for several reasons, including the need to determine a defendant's physical condition.

After his capture, Tsarnaev, 19, spent six days in the hospital being treated for gunshot wounds before being transferred to a federal medical prison. He's charged with using a weapon of mass destruction for the April 15 blast that killed three and wounded more than 200 people at the finish line of the race.

Slideshow: Boston bombings

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Heightened security, empty streets, and memorials mark the the days after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Launch slideshow

A tornado that devastated Oklahoma City's suburbs has left dozens of people dead, numerous injured and missing and countless homes destroyed. As rescue workers continue to pick through the rubble, hoping to find survivors, here are some accounts from those who did make it out.

Hero teacher: Student said, 'I love you, please don't die with me'
Rhonda Crosswhite, a teacher in hard-hit Moore, Okla., ushered her students into bathroom stalls as the tornado descended right onto Plaza Towers Elementary School. As she laid on top of the kids, one had a plea: "One of my little boys, he just kept saying, 'I love you, I love you, please don't die with me,'" Crosswhite told TODAY on Tuesday.

Every one of Crosswhite's students made it out, she said. One had a head cut, but everyone else was totally fine — other than Crosswhite, who has cuts all over her body and feet.

"I never thought I was going to die," she said, "The whole time, I just kept screaming to them, 'Quit worrying, we're fine, we're fine, we're fine,' and I'm very loud. I just kept hoping they could hear me because I could hear them screaming."

Crosswhite said she said a few prayers as the powerful tornado blew over them. 

"It was like a freight train," she said. "It felt like someone was beating me from behind."

Fourth grader: Teacher 'saved our lives'
One of Rhonda Crosswhite's students who endured the chaos was fourth-grader Damian Britton, who survived by hiding out in the bathroom of Plaza Towers Elementary School.

"A teacher took cover of us. Miss Crosswhite," Damian told TODAY on Tuesday. "She was covering me and my friend Zachary. I told her that we were fine because we were holding onto something. And then she went over to my friend Antonio and covered him. So she saved our lives."

After the storm blew through the school, "it was just a disaster," Damian said. Cars were strewn all over the property; the odor of gas wafted through the air. Damian survived without a scratch, but half of his home was destroyed, his mom, Brandi Kline said.

"All of our neighbors lost everything," she said. "As long as I have my kids, that's all that matters."

KFC cook's YouTube video goes viral
Newcastle, Okla., KFC cook Michael Welch got distracted during his shift on Monday by the sound of hail pounding the parking lot. Armed with his cellphone, the 24-year-old went outside, where he saw the wall cloud of a gigantic tornado rotating in front of him. 

“It was very large and very fast,” he said.  “I could see debris flying all over.”

Instead of going inside to take shelter, like most of his coworkers decided to do, he ran into the parking lot and filmed the twister with his phone. 

“Probably not the best thing to do, but I did it,” he said.

His video, seen now by hundreds of thousands on YouTube and on NBCNews.com, gives a street-level view of the funnel cloud that plowed through Newcastle and Moore. 

'We thought we died'
For one resident of Moore, surviving the twister was a terrifying experience, especially after it tore off the door of the cellar he was sheltering in.

"We thought we died because we were inside the cellar. We locked the cellar door once we saw it coming. It got louder and next thing you know, you see the latch coming undone, and it ripped open the door," Ricky Stover said, his voice breaking as he held back tears.

"Glass and debris started slamming on us, so we thought we were dead," he added.

Three-time tornado survivors: 'We were lucky'
Charles and Sandra Marsh have lived in the same subdivision in Moore since 1978. Since then, they have seen three tornadoes barrel through, including Monday's and 1999's EF-5 twister. Before Monday's came through at 2:30 p.m. local time, the Marshes decided to drive to Norman, just south of Moore, to wait out the storm in a shopping mall, not knowing what they would come home to — if anything.

When they came home, they discovered their house was one of the few still standing in the subdivision. 

"My ex- son-in-law and ex- father-in-law lost their houses. They lost everything," Charles Marsh said. "We were lucky."

The house had a little damage in the back, but the Marshes slept there Monday night, huddling under a blanket for warmth.

"I think the structure is sound," Charles Marsh said. "It's livable." 

Down the road, their children's former school got blown away. The Marshes still hadn't heard from their friends as of Tuesday to confirm that they were alright, but Charles Marsh said he was grateful that his family was fine.

"My kids — they're all OK," he said, tears in his eyes.

Family finds their chihuahuas in rubble of their house
After the tornado flattened their home in Moore, two members of the Hendricks household were still missing: Lola and Louie, a pair of chihuahuas. The family's two other dogs had been found under a pile of debris in the backyard after the tornado, but Lola and Louie were nowhere to be found until Tuesday morning. That was when Levi Hendricks came back to the rubble that used to be his house and heard the faint sound of dogs whining.

"That's how we pinpointed where they were at and started digging at that point," Hendricks said. “Their kennel was smashed down on top of them. The car was sitting on top of the kennel. We had to pry the kennel out from underneath the car and then pry the kennel apart to get them out.”

Kael Alford/NBC News

Leslie Hendricks, 27 and her father Levi Hendricks Sr., 53 rescued their dogs from the rubble of their house in Moore, Oklahoma after a massive tornado touched down there yesterday.

Hendricks and his two sons started digging, and reached Louie, 3, and Lola, 2, who were both fine.

“They were both wrapped around each other and inside a comforter. They were toasty warm,” he said. “And both of them were just tickled to death to get out.”

'The worst thing I have ever seen'
Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Betsy Randolph arrived in Moore on Monday after the afternoon tornado hit to help victims, and told The Oklahoman the devastation was "the worst thing I have ever seen."

"I saw a lot of walking wounded — people with blood all over. It was a matter of putting work gloves on and getting to work,” she told the paper. “We hope that we don't have any more fatalities, but we know there are a lot more people trapped tonight.”

She urged people to stay away from the area, which was being kept clear for emergency responders.

'Car parts in my bedroom'
Melanie Shelton, a Moore resident, barely made it out of her apartment complex as the tornado chased her and her son-in-law down the road on Monday. 

"Behind us, you could just see it," she told CBS Oklahoma affiliate news9.com. "It just looked like bombs had been ignited everywhere. There's car parts in my bedroom. Everything's gone. Just in a matter of 30 minutes, your whole life is gone."

She had been alone in her apartment in Moore when her son-in-law came frantically knocking on the door just before the tornado hit and urged her to leave. The two of them "booked it to Norman," a 10-mile drive south from Moore.

"If I would have stayed, I may not have been here," Shelton told news9.com. 

NBC News' Miranda Leitsinger and NBC News contributor Alex Hannaford contributed to this report.

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Ed Zurga / EPA

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead as the threat of further storms continues.

Launch slideshow

Full tornado coverage:

• The latest on the Oklahoma tornado
• Photos and videos from the ground
• How to help Oklahoma tornado victims
• Oklahoma school survivor: Teacher threw herself over us and 'saved our lives'
• 'The school started coming apart': Trapped students had nowhere to hide
• Before and after: Tornado cuts devastating path through Oklahoma
  

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 10:16 AM EDT

Evening Standard

London's Evening Standard newspaper reports on the tornado in Oklahoma.

Pope Francis and Britain’s queen sent messages of condolence to those affected by the deadly Oklahoma tornado Tuesday, as news of the devastation spread around the world.

"I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children,” the pontiff posted on his Twitter feed. “Join me in praying for them."

The U.S. Embassy in London thanked British well-wishers for their expressions of support.

In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace officials, Queen Elizabeth said: "I was deeply saddened to hear of the loss of life and devastation caused by yesterday’s tornado in Oklahoma."

"Prince Philip joins me in offering our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families at this difficult time. Our deepest sympathies go out to all those whose lives have been affected, as well as the American people," she added.

Canada's foreign minister John Baird said he was "shocked and saddened" at the devastation.

"Canada stands with those affected, ready to assist," he added.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government and people of the country were “deeply saddened and shocked at the humanitarian tragedy unleashed on the Oklahoma State by a devastating tornado.”

“Our sympathies and prayers go out to the families of victims of this horrific incident that led to precious loss of life and property,” the statement said. “We are particularly grieved over the loss of innocent children and their teachers who were buried under the rubble.”

“May God Almighty give courage and strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss. The people of Pakistan stand hand in hand with the people of Oklahoma at this difficult time,” it added.

Full coverage of the Oklahoma tornadoes from NBC News

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 9:01 AM EDT

Glen Adkisson via Facebook

This photo was posted on Facebook by Glen Adkisson after tornadoes struck Oklahoma on Monday. "This was in our yard 5/20/2013...Collinsville," he wrote.

The photo shows a baby in diapers on a high chair gazing at a white cake with one pink candle.  

Glen Adkisson of Collinsville, Okla., posted on Facebook that it had been found "in our yard" following Monday's devastating tornadoes.

Allison Messer via Facebook

This photo was posted on Facebook by Allison Messer after a tornado struck Oklahoma, with the message "Found in our pasture between Stroud & Depew. Would love to find the momma this belongs too."

The message below reads: "This photo is of my sisters deceased husband when he was a child. We are from Shawnee Oklahoma. She did live in the trailer park. She and my 7 year old nephew lost their home. I will try to contact u va Facebook. Bless you for posting this!"

This exchange appears on a Facebook page -- May 19th 2013 OK Tornado Doc & Picture Recovery -- set up to return photos and documents to victims of a deadly storm system that has ripped across the state. 

Early Tuesday, the page included hundreds of family photos and documents.  A picture of a cat with one blue eye sat next to another of a woman in a camp chair holding two blond and grinning children. A grimy electricity bill was next to the stained photograph of a toddler sitting on Santa's knee.  An ultrasound photo showed what appeared to be a baby in utero.

Some postings had happy endings, with pets and pictures being reunited with their families.

A photo of a brown-haired young man cuddling a smiling girl with long caramel-colored hair elicited an overjoyed response from Dana Davis: “this is my picture it was in my room at my sisters and her house got destroyed by the tornado by lake thunderbird !”

Becky Miller, one of the page’s administrators, knew the photos and documents that landed on the ground as so-called falling debris, might look like detritus but were in fact irreplaceable artifacts or documents for somebody.  

This photo was posted on Facebook by Kristi Hodge after a tornado struck Oklahoma with the message "Found 2 miles south of Ramona at 815 PM floating from the sky."

“People had falling debris 100 miles away – people were saying it is raining debris in the yard,” said the resident of Liberty, Okla., which is about two hours away from Oklahoma City.  “That’s what started it. I wanted people reunited with precious pictures or colored pictures – you can’t replace those in a disaster.”

Indeed, Jeremy-Trista Blevins posted a ripped picture of three children – the smallest a bald and smiling baby – that she says she found in Sand Spring, 119 miles from where the hurricane struck.

The page, which was started by Leslie Edgar Hagelberg, Miller’s cousin, and her sister, Sarah Miller-Deibert, quickly turned into a sort of clearing house, attracting others trying to help those in need.

Diana Gann’s plea for help subduing a traumatized mule prompted almost 150 responses. 

A posting originally on Photos of Moore Oklahoma Tornado Pets Lost & Found and cross-linked on May 19^th 2013 OK Tornado Doc showed a nervous-looking black lab.

"3 dogs rescued from Moore tornado! Bathed, and cared for at rescuers home. Want to reunite them back with their families," the message with the photo read. "Prayer to all our furry friends and families."

Erin Lang via Facebook

Erin Lang posted this photo on Facebook after Monday's tornado in Moore, Okla., writing: "3 dogs rescued from Moore tornado! Bathed, and cared for at rescuers home. Want to reunite them back with their families. Please spread the word and contact Erin Lang or Carey Ralstin on Facebook! Prayer to all our furry friends and families."

And down the page another message from Farah Payton-Snider declared: "The black Lab is my (friend's)... dog Tin. Please call me ASAP."

Payton-Snider, 36, said she would close her flower shop and head into Oklahoma City first thing in the morning to try and help reunite people who had been hit by the tornado with their pets.

"I feel helpless, I want to be able to do something," said Payton-Snider, who lives in Newcastle, Okla.  

Related:

• Full coverage of Oklahoma tornadoes

• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

• How to help tornado victims

This story was originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 6:21 AM EDT

Sue Ogrocki / AP

A child calls to his father after being pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., on Monday.

When the sirens began blaring and teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., heard that a monstrous tornado was roaring toward their 57-year-old school and its youngest students, there was nowhere to hide.

They crouched in hallways and bathrooms, waiting, hoping and praying. Then "the school started coming apart," one neighbor who sought shelter at the school told the Associated Press. A teacher told NBC station KFOR that she draped herself on top of six children in a bathroom to shelter them.

The massive twister scored a direct hit at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), tearing off the roof of the mostly one-story public school, a cinder-block building that had no chance of withstanding shrieking winds that may have topped 200 mph -- the powerful outer edge of what the National Weather Service said was at least an EF4 tornado, the second-most-powerful rating.

By Tuesday morning, the death toll at the school stood at seven. Officials said the children drowned in a pool of water at the decimated school. Rescuers were continuing to dig through the school’s rubble, from which several children were pulled out alive Monday evening.

It's unclear if any other children were killed or trapped alive.

Hysterical parents who had converged on the sprawling pile of broken concrete and twisted metal were later taken to a church to await word on the fate of their youngsters.

The two-mile-wide tornado wiped out entire city blocks of Moore, the hardest-hit Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 24 people, the state medical examiner office confirmed. Many of the dead are children.

Exactly what transpired at Plaza Towers in the minutes before the tornado unleashed its destructive power has yet to be described. School officials evacuated fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders to a church about a quarter-mile away before it touched down, but the younger students – kindergartners through third graders – remained at the 440-student school, according to KFOR in Oklahoma City. It was not immediately known why school officials divided the students.

Bing (top) | AP (bottom)

Before and after aerial photos of Plaza Towers Elementary School.

But Mayer Nudell, a security and safety consultant, did not fault the decision to ride out the storm at the school.

“For something like a tornado, it’s fairly academic,” he said of the options that school officials would have had once the sirens began. “You don’t go out, and you don’t have much warning.”

Despite the carnage at the school, “shelter in place” has emerged as a staple of disaster planning and the strategy of choice for a range of emergencies, including tornadoes. And studies show it has a good track record of saving lives.

On May 3, 1999, for example, when another monster tornado roared through Moore, some 300 students and their parents were attending an awards ceremony in the West Moore High School auditorium. Though the twister badly damaged the school and tossed 150 cars in the parking lot like tinker-toys, those who hunkered down in the school’s hallways suffered only a few superficial injuries.

But there are experts who say that having a large number of people crowded into a big building is a bad idea when maximum-force tornadoes are sweeping through an area.

Chief among them is Joe R. Eagleman, a professor emeritus of the University of Kansas and author of “Severe and Unusual Weather,” a meteorology standard since it was first published in 1983.

He agrees that there was likely insufficient time between the first warning and the time the tornado hit the school, constructed in 1966, for Plaza Towers administrators to consider sending students home. “If time is short, being caught out in the open is not good,” he said.

But he said dispersing the students to their homes would have improved their odds.

“If there is sufficient warning time, the homes would be typically safer because they are smaller buildings and offer more opportunity to get in a downwind corner of the likely approach,” he said.

Eagleman is widely credited with debunking what was the prevailing school of thought on tornadoes for much of the last century: that the safest spot to take shelter is the southwest corner of a building. The reasoning behind the fallacy was that, since most U.S. tornadoes travel from west-southwest to the east-northeast, a twister would hurl debris into the northeast corner of whatever building it hit, likely taking out anyone cowering there.

But Eagleman conducted an extensive study after an EF5 tornado hit Topeka, Kan., in 1966, and found that the southwest corner – the direction from which a tornado was most likely to approach – was in fact the most dangerous area to hide.

“It used to be a rule that the southwest corner was the safest, no questions asked, but it was not based on any data,” he said.

Once Plaza Towers officials made the decision to have the students and teachers shelter in place, the school’s disaster plan would have kicked in. The staff and student body would likely have been well-coached, given the school’s location in “Tornado Alley” and Moore’s history of destructive tornadoes, though Eagleman noted that “it varies all over the place as to what the planning has been for severe storms.”

In any case, students would have been moved into a hallway or small room away from the southwest corner of the building and any windows and instructed to either sit or crouch.

“You want a place that is structurally secure, without windows, so you don’t have to worry about flying glass,” said Nudell, who also is an adjunct professor of security management at Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo., and co-author of “The Handbook for Effective Emergency and Crisis Management.”

Both men said the school’s construction would have been important to its ability to withstand a powerful twister.

“The buildings that are made of reinforced concrete are typically very sturdy,” Eagleman said. “Those made with concrete blocks are not.”

But given the destruction visible after the tornado swept through Moore, it’s possible that no building would have withstood the intense pressure that the tornado brought to bear on the building, Nudell said.

Nudell also cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the emergency planning or safety of the school.

“When you get a tornado like the one that it sounds like hit Oklahoma, sometimes all the preparation and planning in the world doesn’t help you,” he said.

NBC News' Erin McClam and Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

Related stories: 

• Monster tornado tears through Oklahoma
• Six of the worst tornadoes in US history
• Full coverage of Oklahoma tornadoes from NBC News

Michael Welch was midshift into his job at KFC in Newcastle, Okla., on Monday afternoon when he noticed hail pounding the parking lot outside the restaurant.

Then, as he looked into the distance, he saw the wall cloud of an enormous tornado rotating in front of him.

“It was very large and very fast,” he said.  “I could see debris flying all over.”

The 24-year-old cook grabbed his HTC cell phone and dashed into the parking lot and started recording video. “Probably not the best thing to do, but I did it.”

Most of his coworkers took shelter, but his manager stayed at the door while he filmed, Welch said.

“Oh, my God!” he screams on his video -- seen by thousands on NBC News and YouTube -- as the tornado, which killed at least 24 people and injured scores more in the area, passes. 

He said an F4 tornado that hit his house in Blanchard on May 24, 2011, helped alleviate his fear.

“I think that gave me the courage to go ahead and go outside,” he said. “The power of the funnel cloud was amazing."

He said he had no idea a storm was coming until he saw it with his own eyes.

But now, his YouTube video showing a street-level view of the massive tornado plowing through Newcastle and Moore stands as an iconic record of the day’s event.

“I’ve talked to so many people today I can’t even count ,” he said.

Related:

• Monster tornado deals death, destruction in Oklahoma
• Children found drowned in tornado-flattened school
• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• What you're seeing: Videos, images from ground
• Six of the worst twisters in U.S. history
• Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley’s past, future
• How to help tornado victims

The full extent of the destruction caused by the enormous tornado that ripped through Oklahoma was still being determined as night fell on Monday.  At least 51 people were killed, including seven children at an elementary school. Entire blocks of homes were flattened. At one hospital alone 85 patients, including 65 children, were being treated for injuries. And many were still missing. Here's a look at how Monday's horrific storm compares to some of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history:

Joplin, Mo. - May 22, 2011

Julie Denesha / Getty Images

Destroyed homes and debris cover the ground as a second storm moves in on May 23, 2011 in Joplin, Mo.

Peak winds, roaring over 200 miles per hour, destroyed the Missouri town, killing 162 people and causing an estimated $2.8 billion in damage, according to the National Weather Service. The Weather Channel's severe weather expert Greg Forbes estimates more than 17,000 people were affected. Nearly two years later, the town is still rebuilding.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - April 27, 2011

Marvin Gentry/Reuters

An aerial view shows extensive damage to homes in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Ala., April 28, 2011.

The F4 tornado killed 65 during a record-setting day when 200 twisters spun through the Southeast. The spring and summer of 2011 was one of the most active, deadly and destructive periods of tornado activity in U.S. history. That year there were a reported 551 fatalities and $28 billion in damages, according to the Almanac.

Worcester, Mass. - June 9, 1953

Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images

Shortly after the tornado struck in Worchester, Mass. The storm shattered homes at left and piled debris in the street.

Areas outside the Midwest are not immune from tornadoes. In 1953 a cyclone tore through Massachusetts and killed 90, making it the worst in New England history.

Tupelo, Miss./Gainesville, Ga. - April 5 and 6, 1936

Hall County Library System via AP

Offices along South Main Street in Gainesville following three tornadoes that touched down in the early morning of April 6, 1936.

Two tornadoes merged over Gainesville, Ga., just northeast of Atlanta, on April 6, 1936. The twisters came just one day after a tornado took more than 200 lives in Tupelo, Miss. Overall, the two-day death toll was 454.

"Tri-State Tornado" - March 18, 1925

Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Minnie (left) and Rose Hawkins sit amid the wreckage of their home in Murphysboro, Ill., in the wake of the tri-state tornado in March 1925.

The deadliest tornado in American history ripped through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 747 people. Particularly affected was  Murphysboro, Ill., where a whopping 234 were killed, according to The Weather Channel.

St. Louis, Mo. - May 27, 1896

J.C. Strauss/St. Louis Public Library via AP

Children stand in the street near Eighth and Rutger in St. Louis after it was hit by a tornado on May 27, 1896.

The tornado hit downtown St. Louis, crossed the Mississippi River and slammed through East St. Louis. It killed 255 and caused $2.54 billion in damage, when adjusted for inflation. The storm was the costliest twister in U.S. history before Joplin.

Related:

• Monster tornado deals death, destruction in Oklahoma
• Children found drowned in tornado-flattened school
• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• 'Oh my God!': KFC cook records dramatic footage of monster tornado
• What you're seeing: Videos, images from ground
• Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley’s past, future
• How to help tornado victims

This story was originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 10:49 PM EDT

At least 51 people, including 20 children, were among the victims of an enormous tornado that roared through the suburbs of Oklahoma City Monday, pulverizing entire city blocks and leaving behind miles of mangled cars and splintered wood.

Officials warned the death toll was likely to climb, making it among the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history.

Forecasters warned that more "large and devastating" tornadoes were possible Tuesday with cities including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock potentially at risk.

At one hospital, 85 patients, including 65 children, were being treated for minor to critical injuries.

Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains

Sue Ogrocki / AP

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving scores dead as the threat for more storms continues.

Launch slideshow

“The whole city looks like a debris field,” said Mayor Glenn Lewis of the city of Moore, which appeared to be the hardest hit.

One of the many buildings to be totally destroyed was the Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children drowned in a pool of water. The tornado tore the roof off the school about 3 p.m. local time. A teacher told NBC station KFOR that she draped herself on top of six children in a bathroom to shelter them.

It was not clear how many children still were missing. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade were evacuated to a church, but students in lower grades had sheltered in place, KFOR reported. More than two hours after the tornado struck, several children were pulled out alive.

The twister was a mile wide at its base, according to The Weather Channel. A reporter for KFOR said the tornado kicked up a cloud of debris perhaps two miles wide. The National Weather Service initially classified the storm as an EF4, the second-strongest type, with winds of 166 to 200 mph.

“It seems that our worst fears have happened today,” said Bill Bunting, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman, Okla.

Even before the death toll began to climb, television footage showed a landscape shattered — not the arbitrary damage of a tornado that leaves some homes untouched, but vast and utter obliteration.

Emergency workers stepped gingerly around piles of wreckage left on the foundations of homes. Other people simply walked around, dazed. Fires broke out in several places.

“I lost everything,” one man said as he walked through the ruins of a horse farm. “We might have one horse left out of all of them.”

Tiffany Thronesberry told the Associated Press that her mother, Barbara Jarrell, called her and screamed: “Help! Help! I can’t breathe! My house is on top of me!”

At one hospital in Moore, cars were “piled like Hot Wheels” in the parking lot, and police were searching them one by one and spray-painting X’s to mark them clear of victims, said Kurt Gwartney, news director for radio station KGOU.

An Oklahoma emergency management spokesman said a hospital was being evacuated after sustaining severe damage, and 16 ambulances were being sent to move patients. It was not clear whether it was the same hospital.

The tornado struck at mid-afternoon and tore a 20-mile path, said Rick Smith, another weather service meteorologist. He said it was on the ground for 40 minutes. Much of the storm’s rampage was captured on live television, perhaps alerting people in its path to seek shelter.

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster, making federal aid available to people in five counties. Gov. Mary Fallin asked the people of Oklahoma for patience and promised: “We will bring every single resource out that we can.”

Relief efforts sprang up. The Red Cross said it was opening a shelter, and the University of Oklahoma opened some of its housing for displaced families.

In addition to Plaza Towers, Briarwood Elementary School was heavily damaged, KFOR reported.

Grasping for comparisons, some people said it looked like Joplin, the Missouri town virtually wiped off the map two years ago when a tornado — this one an EF5 — blew through and killed 158 people.

Joplin city officials said Monday they were sending a team of 10 officers and three firefighters to Moore to help. “Giving back in whatever way we can,” the mayor said on Twitter.

For those living in Oklahoma, the ferocity was reminiscent of May 3, 1999, when a tornado registered wind of more than 300 mph, left 46 dead and damaged or destroyed more than 8,000 homes.

The tornado Monday also came one day after another cluster of storms in Oklahoma that killed two elderly men in the town of Shawnee. Tens of millions of people from Texas to the Great Lakes — an area covering 55 million people — had been warned to brace for the severe weather.

The Sunday storms destroyed mobile homes, flipped trucks and sent people across 100 miles running for cover. In Kansas, a weather forecaster was forced off the air as a tornado bore down on his station.

Watch live video of storms from KFOR TV

NBC News' Alastair Jamieson, Jeff Black and Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

Related:

• Children found drowned in tornado-flattened school
• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• 'Oh my God!': KFC cook records dramatic footage of monster tornado
• What you're seeing: Videos, images from ground
• Six of the worst twisters in U.S. history
• Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley’s past, future
• How to help tornado victims

This story was originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 9:30 PM EDT

Just call him Python Dundee.

A Miami man pulled an 18-foot Burmese python out of roadside brush and wrestled with it for 10 minutes before cutting its head off with a knife.

The 128-pound specimen turned out to be the biggest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, besting the previous record by more than a foot, wildlife officials said.

"I was pretty exhausted and I didn't want to get bit," Jason Leon, 23, said of the decapitation that ended his struggle with the massive constrictor.

For his trouble, Leon got thanks from the the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which considers Burmese pythons an invasive species that wreaks havoc on the state's ecosystem.

"I would think a snake of that size could kill a very large animal," said Carli Segelson, a commission spokeswoman. "It could kill a deer, so a person would be comparable in size to that."

Leon, a college student studying marine biology, said he was riding ATVs with friends in a rural area on May 11 when one of them spotted about three feet of snake sticking out of some brush.

Leon, who used to keep snakes, had never seen a python in the wild and decided to get up close and personal with this one. It wasn't until he yanked him out that he realized how big it was.

As he held it by the neck, the female wrapped around his leg once, then twice and then headed for his waist. He kept grappling with it until he became worried it might sink its razor-sharp teeth into him.

A friend handed him a nine-inch knife and he sunk it into the snake, he said.

Two days later, Leon called wildlife officials, who took the snake and confirmed it was a record-setter. He agreed to donate the skeleton but has been promised the skin, which he plans to tan and put on his living room wall.

Officials said they are grateful the python is no longer roaming the wild and that Leon was not hurt.

"Anytime people are dealing with wildlife, we recommend they use common sense," Segelson said. "If you're going to approach a Burmese python of this size, you should have an understanding of what it takes to euthanize it."

The Oklahoman, NewsOk.com

A teacher hugs a child at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Monday, May 20, 2013.

By Suzanne Choney, Contributing Writer, NBC News

The loss of life and stunning devastation in Oklahoma City suburbs after a monster tornado ripped through the area are heart-wrenching. "The streets are just gone. The signs are just gone," said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, after she toured the area by helicopter Tuesday. And many, many relief organizations are getting the message out on how to help.

American Red Cross
The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund here, and the organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank. Fundraising efforts were buoyed Tuesday by a $1 million pledge from Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, via his family foundation.

If you're searching for a missing relative, check Red Cross Safe & Well's site. And please register if you're within the disaster region. The site is designed to make communication easier after a tragedy like this. 

If you want to send a $10 donation to the Disaster Relief fund via text message, you can do so by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)

The Red Cross also accepts frequent flier miles as donations. Delta, United Airlines and US Airways partner with the Red Cross throughout the year, which uses miles to help get volunteers and staff to key locations during disasters. (Note: The donation is not tax-deductible as the IRS considers it a gift.) For Delta, email: delta.bids@delta-air.com with your SkyMiles number, the number of miles you want to donate, and specify the Red Cross as the charity. You can donate miles online at United Airlines Donate Your Miles and US Airways Dividend Miles.

Phone: 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 1-800-257-7575; for TDD, 1-800-220-4095.

OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund
The state of Oklahoma, coordinating with the United Way of Central Oklahoma, on Tuesday established the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund to help "with the long-term medical, emotional and educational needs of victims of the May 20 tornado in Moore and the May 19 tornado near Shawnee."

Donations can be made online at UnitedWayOKC.org.

Phone: 1-405-236-8441.

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, working with the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is seeking monetary donations. To donate, visit the regional food bank's website, or give $10 by texting the word FOOD to 32333.

Phone: 1-405-972-1111

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief
This organization says donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters." 

It is requesting monetary donations (It says clothing is NOT needed). For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief's website.

You can send checks to: BGCO, Attn: Disaster Relief, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK., 73112.

Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.

In Little Axe, Okla., the organization said, the army's Central Oklahoma Area Command Disaster Service Unit was busy feeding breakfast, lunch and dinner to people, "even as one of our Salvation Army family member's home was destroyed."

Supporters can donate online via the organization's website, SalvationArmyUSA.org. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation via cellphone.

If you want to send a check, the Salvation Army asks that you put the words "Oklahoma Tornado Relief" on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK., 73157.

Phone:  1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

Related: Consumers warned about fake Oklahoma charities

Central Oklahoma Humane Society
The Central Oklahoma Humane Society is in need of towels, paper towels, bleach, gloves and crates to help with lost and injured animals. "Currently our greatest need is financial donations to help us treat and house lost and injured animals at our facilities," the society says on its site. Donations can be made online here and should be designated for the "OK Humane Disaster Relief Fund."

Phone:  1-405-607-8991

Feed the Children
Feed the Children has set up five locations in Oklahoma City to accept donations to help victims of the Moore tornado. The organization is accepting items including diapers, canned goods, non-perishable food, snack items, water and sports drinks. The organization is also supporting mobile canteens in partnership with the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.

You can donate online, or make a $10 donation by texting the word DISASTER to 80888.

Phone:  1-800-627-4556

United Way of Central Oklahoma
A disaster relief fund is being activated as of May 21 so that individuals can specifically donate to tornado relief-and-recovery efforts, the organization says on its site.

"Financial contributions are the best way to help unless otherwise requested." Donations can be made online at

United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Disaster Relief Fund is open.  Donations may be made online here. Checks, with a notation of "May Tornado Relief" can also be sent to the United Way of Central Oklahoma, P.O. Box 837, Oklahoma City, OK , 73101.

Feeding America
Through its network of more than 200 food banks, Feeding America, whose mission is to "feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks," says it will deliver truckloads of food, water and supplies to communities in need, in Oklahoma, and will also "set up additional emergency food and supply distribution sites as they are needed." You can donate online here.

Phone: 1-800-910-5524.

Operation USA
The international relief group, based in Los Angeles, says it is "readying essential material aid — emergency, shelter and cleaning supplies" to help Oklahoma's community health organizations and schools recover.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word AID to 50555. Checks should be sent to: Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., PH, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Phone: 1-800-678-7255.

Convoy of Hope
The Missouri-based nonprofit organization has done work in other disasters, including the Haiti earthquake, with a mission of getting food and water to those after disaster strikes. Now it's doing the same for Moore, Okla. You can donate online here. Convoy of Hope is also going the crowd-sourced route, using HopeMob, a site similar to Kickstarter but for raising money to help disaster victims and others in need, which charges no fees to the organizations that use it. Convoy of Hope's goal on the site is to raise $15,000 in seven days to help Moore.

"Why 7 days? In these first 7 days the town of Moore, OK will be consumed with clearing out destruction and accessing their needs," HopeMob says on its site. "Once those needs are known we want to be able to give them the funds to help them rebuild in the long term."

Phone: 1-800-988-0664

Direct Relief
The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based, non-profit organization provides medical assistance and personal hygiene items to those hurt in disasters, as well as in other circumstances.

"So far we have heard from health center partners responding in Oklahoma and are preparing an emergency shipment to help support the efforts there.  Direct Relief has been receiving requests for emergency supplies, personal care and protection items — including hygiene supplies, infection control products, gloves, soap, shampoo, deodorant, sanitary napkins, diapers, wipes and formula," said Kerri Murray, Direct Relief vice president, in an email.

To donate, visit DirectRelief.org.

Phone: 1-800-676-1638

AmeriCares
The Emergency Response team for AmeriCares is in Oklahoma, "coordinating deliveries of emergency aid and assessing the needs of survivors and health care organizations in the disaster area."

Since 1982, the Connecticut-based nonprofit has delivered medicine, medical supplies and aid to those in need around the world and across the United States.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word LIVE to 25383. Checks or money orders can be mailed to: AmeriCares, 88 Hamilton Ave., Stamford, CT 06902.

Phone:  1-800-486-HELP (1-800-486-4357)

Operation Blessing International
Humanitarian organization Operation Blessing International, which last week coordinated more than 500 volunteers in Granbury, Texas, after that area was hit by a tornado, is working with The Home Depot and dispatching a construction unit, mobile command center, trucks with tools and supplies and a team of construction foremen to Moore.

Late Monday, Operation Blessing International also "loaded and deployed two tractor-trailer truckloads of food and emergency relief supplies from its warehouse in Dallas, Texas, in partnership with the humanitarian organization, Mercury One," said a Operation Blessing spokeswoman.

The Virginia Beach-based group's online link for donations is here.

Phone:  1-800-730-2537

Samaritan's Purse
The international Christian relief organization focuses on cleaning and repairing damaged homes and sent two disaster relief units from North Wilkesboro, N.C. to Oklahoma Tuesday. "The tractor-trailers are stocked with heavy-duty plastic, chainsaws, generators, and other tools and equipment. The units also will serve as command centers for the response," Samaritan's Purse says on its website.

You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word SP to 80888.

Phone:  1-800-528-1980

Save the Children
Save the Children responds to disasters around the world, and has created an "Oklahoma Tornadoes Children in Emergency Fund" for online donations. The organization provides food and medical care to children whose families have been displaced from their homes. You can give a $10 donation by texting the word TWISTER to 20222.

Phone:  1-800-728-3843

United Methodist Committee on Relief
The committee works with local United Methodist churches and trained disaster response workers to help with cleanup and rebuilding, pastoral counseling and support for children and youth who have been through trauma.
 
You can donate online here. You can also give a $10 donation by texting the word RESPONSE to 80888.

Phone: 1-800-554-8583

LifeChurch.tv
Life Church.tv, which describes itself as "Oklahoma's largest evangelical church," says its Oklahoma City metro locations will accept donations of items over the next week, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and distribute them to tornado victims. Among the items needed: Toiletries, diapers, wipes, formula, baby bottles, new clothing, new shoes, and bags, backpacks or plastic tubs for carrying items.

You can also donate money online by visiting LifeChurch.tv, or by texting the word RELIEF to 86613, and selecting an amount you would like to donate.

Phone:  1-405-216-7054

Jewish Federations of North America
The Jewish Federations of North America is working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma, which is coordinating efforts with a local food bank, Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. The Jewish Federations of North America has established an Oklahoma City Tornado Relief fund. Donors can contribute online here.

Checks can also be sent to the JFNA national mailbox at: The Jewish Federations of North America, Wall Street Station, P.O. Box 148, New York, NY, 10268. Please indicate "JFNA Oklahoma City Tornado Relief Fund" on all checks or in the designation box online.

Oklahoma Tornado Relief 2013
The Oklahoma Tornado Relief 2013 fundraising effort is being done through a crowd-sourced effort using Fundly, a website for fundraising, akin to HopeMob, mentioned above. On the site, you'll find various fundraising causes to help tornado victims, and can choose which you'd like to support.

DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org is creating a special online fund to collect donations for the teachers and schools of Moore, Okla., to help respond and rebuild. Donors Choose will work with the teachers of Moore to assess what they need for their classrooms and allow them to identify the real-time solutions and supplies their community and their students need: everything from clothing for their students to first-aid kits. 

To donate, visit www.donorschoose.org

And a note of caution ...

Emotions are running high, understandably, in light of the awful news from Oklahoma. Many of us want to help in some way. But this vulnerable time is also rife with and ripe for scammers who want to prey on your emotions and wallet. They may seek you out via email, knock on your door, or even try to get you to give money via Facebook. 

The Federal Trade Commission has guidelines about charity donations, including these tips:

• Donate to charities you know and trust. Be alert for charities that seem to have sprung up overnight in connection with current events, like the tornadoes.
• Ask if a caller is a paid fundraiser, who they work for, and what percentage of your donation goes to the charity and to the fundraiser. If you don’t get a clear answer — or if you don’t like the answer you get — consider donating to a different organization.
• Don’t give out personal or financial information — including your credit card or bank account number — unless you know the charity is reputable.
• Never send cash: you can’t be sure the organization will receive your donation, and you won’t have a record for tax purposes.
• Check out the charity with the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar.
• Find out if the charity or fundraiser must be registered in your state by contacting the National Association of State Charity Officials.

Ben Popken and Devin Coldewey also contributed to this report.

This story was updated May 22.

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• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• 'Oh my God!': KFC cook records dramatic footage of monster tornado
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Sue Ogrocki / AP

A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., and passed along to rescuers after Monday's tornado.

Seven children were found drowned at a tornado-flattened elementary school where rescuers were searching through the night for survivors as parents kept a heart-breaking vigil, officials said.

The students killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School were among at least 24 lives claimed by the monster twister that laid to Moore, Okla.

Several children and staffers were pulled alive from the ruins of Plaza Towers in Moore after the building took a direct hit Monday afternoon.

A little girl was lifted out by rescuers, while a small boy was carried to a triage area by a woman whose face was streaked with dirt and etched with worry.

Sue Ogrocki / AP

A woman carries an injured child to a triage center near the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.,

In another image captured by an Associated Press photographer, a crowd of firefighters worked to remove a woman — her hair and clothes covered in dust and bits of debris — from the pile.

Those hopeful scenes were soon followed by devastating news as the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office confirmed seven students were found dead in a pool of water.

It was unclear if any other children were killed or trapped alive.

Hysterical parents who had converged on the sprawling pile of broken concrete and twisted metal were later taken to a church to await word on the fate of their youngsters.

“Our hearts are just broken for the parents,” Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said at the briefing.

“Our prayers are with you. We are working as quickly as we can to get through the debris and answer some questions about where loved ones are.”

The funnel cloud slammed two schools — Plaza Towers and Briarwood Elementary. There were no reports of casualties from Briarwood, although the building was heavily damaged.

At Plaza Towers, the fourth, fifth and sixth grades were evacuated to a church about a quarter-mile away from the 440-student school before the tornado touched down.

Students in kindergarten through third grade sheltered in place, according to NBC station KFOR. Some of those students had been in a hallway when the twister struck, others in bathrooms.

BING / Microsoft Corp., Steve Gooch / AP

Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., before and after Monday's tornado hit.

"I had to hold on to the wall to keep myself safe because I didn't want to fly away in the tornado," one girl told the station.

James Rushing, who lives across the street, ran to the school to take shelter, thinking the building would be safer than his own home.

"About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he told The Associated Press.

The twister — deemed at least an EF4, the second-highest strength, by the National Weather Service — tore the roof off the building and knocked down its walls.

A truck that was tossed through the air landed in the spot where the school's main office would have been, KFOR reported. Books were scattered across pancaked slabs of concrete.

A crying man described to a reporter how he and others pulled a car off a teacher in the front of the building and found three children she had shielded with her body.

"Good job, teach," the man said, his voice choked with emotion.

A sixth-grade teacher told KFOR she laid on top of several children in a restroom to protect them from winds that may have topped 200 mph, and all survived.

Officials said search and rescue efforts would continue through the night.

Related:

• Monster tornado deals death, destruction in Oklahoma
• Video: Timelapse – nightmare in the suburbs
• Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains
• 'Oh my God!': KFC cook records dramatic footage of monster tornado
• What you're seeing: Videos, images from ground
• Six of the worst twisters in U.S. history
• Curse or coincidence? Scientists study Tornado Alley’s past, future
• How to help tornado victims

This story was originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 7:02 PM EDT