A devastating tornado outbreak in western Kentucky has claimed the lives of at least 50 people, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.

The total could reach 75 to 100 people, he added, calling it “one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history.”

“Dozens” were killed at a candle factory in Mayfield, where 110 people were working when the storm hit Friday night, Beshear said.

One tornado was on the ground for 200 miles, he said, devastating towns like Mayfield and Princeton late Friday. At least four tornadoes tore through western Kentucky.

Beshear has activated the National Guard with 181 guardsmen deployed for search and rescue and recovery operations.

“We will get make it through this, we will rebuild,” Beshear said at a 4 a.m. press conference. “We are strong, resilient people, and we will be there every step of the way.”

In southern Illinois, in Edwardsville, an Amazon distribution warehouse was hit by an apparent tornado, causing massive damage to the facility, officials said. Officials there confirmed an unknown number of fatalities.

There were at least 18 reported tornadoes across four states: Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.

Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management, compared the storms to the April 1974 outbreak that spawned hundreds of tornadoes across several states and killed more than 30 in Kentucky alone.

“Rescues and search efforts are ongoing, even before the wind stopped blowing, crews were out working,” Dossett said Saturday morning.

Tornadoes were also confirmed on the ground in Princeton, Kentucky, just after 10 p.m. local time and in Mayfield, Kentucky, at about 9:30 p.m. local time.

Shortly before 7 p.m. local time, a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was confirmed near Jonesboro, Arkansas, moving northeast at 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

A tornado near Hornersville, Missouri, was on the ground at about 8 p.m. local time.

In Monette, Arkansas, one person was killed at a nursing home when a suspected tornado moved through Friday night, Craighead County, Arkansas, Judge Marvin Day told Jonesboro ABC affiliate KAIT. Authorities had initially said two people were killed. Five others suffered serious injuries.

Meanwhile, a winter storm warning has been issued in the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes where snow is set to blow through Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A winter storm warning is in effect for cities including Aspen, Sioux Falls and Minneapolis.

This will be the first major winter storm for the Minneapolis-St. Paul region this season. The Twin Cities area could see more than 1 foot of snow.

Along the East Coast, record-high temperatures are possible Saturday afternoon.

Temperatures are forecast to climb to 62 degrees in Boston, 66 in New York, 73 in Washington, D.C., and 77 in Savannah, Georgia.

But strong thunderstorms may hit the Carolinas and the Northeast on Saturday night. There is a small chance of tornadoes in the Mid-Atlantic.

Wind alerts are being issued from Chicago to Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Power outages are possible.

ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.