The death toll could rise further as a cold front moves toward the East Coast, bringing fierce winds. Tornado watches were in effect for parts of Florida, Georgia and five other states until Sunday afternoon.

Violent tornadoes and high winds decimated homes, wiped out schools and toppled semitractor-trailers as a monster storm that killed at least 32 people ripped its way across the central and southern U.

North Florida is facing a rare and highly dangerous tornado threat as a monster weekend storm system marches across the Midwest and South, leaving more than a dozen dead in its wake. A tornado watch is in effect until 10 a.

Local emergency management officials and the National Weather Service are urging residents to closely monitor the storm.