February 6, 2008—A tornado touches down in Atkins, Arkansas, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 5.

Overnight, scores of tornadoes tore through Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. As of 2:50 p.m. ET on February 6, at least 50 people had been killed, according to the Associated Press.

The powerful storms—which demolished warehouses, a college dormitory, and a shopping mall—may have been due to La Niña, the AP reported. This Pacific Ocean cooling is the opposite of the El Niño effect and has been known to alter weather systems far from the ocean.