Reeling Missouri city braces for a possible second punch
One team poked through the remains of a Home Depot store, while others searched a Walmart and wrecked apartments as the clock ticked down on another round of severe storms that was forecast to hit later in the day.
A later search was planned with search-and-rescue dogs, and officials tested nine tornado warning sirens while the sun was shining.
The severe weather is not over, "not by a long shot," said one expert.
Expect "a few strong tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds over parts of the southern and central Plains and Ozarks this afternoon and tonight," the National Weather Service warned in a statement.
The Storm Prediction Center, a weather service division, said a repeat of the deadly April outbreak across the South could be setting up, with a possible large outbreak on Tuesday and bad weather potentially reaching the East Coast by Friday.
"This is a very serious situation brewing," center director Russell Schneider said.
The center cited a "moderate risk" of severe weather in central and southeast Kansas and southwestern Missouri, which could include Joplin. It raised the warning for severe weather in central Oklahoma, southern Kansas and north Texas to "high risk," indicating that tornadoes will hit in those areas.
The center also issued a high-risk warning before the deadly outbreak in the South last month that killed more than 300.
Speaking from London, President Barack Obama said he would travel to Joplin on Sunday. The death toll rose to 117 Tuesday, making it the single deadliest U.S. tornado in more than six decades.
Video: Incredible stories of twister survival (on this page)
Some 1,500 people were reported missing, according to Keith Stammer of Jasper County Emergency Management. That tally could include many who simply have not yet been able to let relatives know they are fine, authorities said.
Obama vowed to make all federal resources available for efforts to recover and rebuild.
"The American people are by your side," the president said. "We're going to stay there until every home is repaired, until every neighborhood is rebuilt, until every business is back on its feet."
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told NBC's TODAY that the agency is "here for the long haul."
Rescue crews worked through the rain-soaked chill of night, ignoring lightning and strong winds.
Two law enforcement officials were struck by lightning, one hurt very seriously, during violent thunderstorms on Monday.
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Authorities fear the toll could rise as the full scope of the destruction comes into view: house after house reduced to slabs, cars crushed like soda cans, shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told NBC's TODAY show that Joplin faces a "long, sad and difficult" recovery — and that the number of dead likely "will move up."
Nixon said 17 people were found alive on Monday, although local officials confirmed only seven.
Jonathan Erdman, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said more storms were coming: "Sadly, given the events in Joplin, Mo., and Minneapolis this past weekend, we are not through with severe weather this week. Not by a long shot. The ingredients are in place for a classic Plains tornado outbreak Tuesday."
He said that atmospheric conditions were effectively creating a "cap" on the storm system, which — like putting a lid on a pot of boiling water increases the intensity of the boiling — was expected to result in "dangerous supercell thunderstorms" in the late afternoon or early evening Tuesday.
