Violent tornadoes and high winds have 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.

The number of fatalities increased after the Kansas Highway Patrol reported eight people died in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm.

Several tornado warnings have been issued in Missouri, while Georgia's governor declares a state of emergency.

Large scale wildfires and straight-line-winds ravaged Oklahoma on Friday, one day before violent tornadoes hit the Mississippi Valley on Saturday, resulting in at least 17 deaths. The state of Missouri had 11 deaths alone,

At least 18 people are dead after severe weather hit parts of Missouri, Texas and Arkansas overnight, officials said. Eleven storm-related fatalities were reported in the Missouri counties of Ozark, Butler,

At least 20 people have died, including 12 in Missouri, as a storm outbreak has produced tornadoes, high winds and fires in the South and threatens to cause flooding and further storms throughout the weekend.