At least 32 people have died in tornadoes across the US as a massive storm system moves through the country. (AP: Staci Vandagriff/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
In short:
At least 32 people have been killed by tornadoes and storms in the US as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South.
Authorities say Missouri has recorded at least 11 deaths, more fatalities than any other state.
What's next?
Extreme weather conditions, including hurricane-force winds, are forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people.
At least 32 people have been killed by tornadoes and storms in the United States as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South.
A massive storm system across the country has triggered deadly dust storms, tornadoes and fanned over 100 wildfires.
Missouri has recorded at least 12 deaths, more fatalities than any other state, authorities said.
The deaths included a man whose home was ripped apart by a tornado.
Eight people died in a dust storm that caused at least 50 vehicles to crash in Kansas.
At least 26 tornadoes were reported but not confirmed to have touched down late on Friday night and early on Saturday, local time, as a low pressure system drove powerful thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri, said David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.
"Today there is a high risk for more tornadoes across Alabama and Mississippi, the chance is 30 per cent," he said, "That's pretty significant."
Officials in Arkansas said three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured across eight counties as storms passed through the state.
Authorities also said three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
Extreme weather encompasses zone of 100 million people
Extreme weather conditions, including hurricane-force winds, are forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people.
Winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.
The ruins of a house in Wayne County, Missouri, after a tornado struck the district. (AP: Jeff Roberson)
The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings for parts of far western Minnesota and far eastern South Dakota starting early Saturday. Snow accumulations of 7.6 to 15.2 centimetres were expected, with up to 30 centimetres possible.
Winds gusting to 97kph were expected to cause white-out conditions.
Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported nationwide. Nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed. Governor Kevin Stitt said at a Saturday news conference that some 689 square kilometres had burned in his state.
The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.
"This is terrible out here," said Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 14.6-metre-long trailer in western Oklahoma.
"There's a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I'm not pushing it over 55mph. I'm scared it will blow over if I do."
Experts said it's not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.
Tornadoes hit amid storm outbreak
The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs on Saturday but the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 160kph possible.
High winds also knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, according to authorities.
Crews battle to stop the advance of a blaze in Roberts County, Texas, north-east of Amarillo. (AP: Alonzo Adams)
Significant tornadoes were expected Saturday afternoon and evening, local time. The regions at highest risk stretch from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi through Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle, the centre said.
Apart from Oklahoma, wildfires elsewhere in the Southern Plains threatened to spread rapidly amid warm, dry weather and strong winds in Texas, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
A blaze in Roberts County, Texas, north-east of Amarillo, quickly blew up from less than 2 square kilometres to an estimated 85 square kilometres, the Texas A&M University Forest Service said on X. Crews stopped its advance by Friday evening.
About 90km to the south, another fire grew to about 10 square kilometres before its advance was halted in the afternoon.
AP/Reuters