Nearly two dozen people have been injured after tornadoes swept through central Texas as part of a storm system that is expected to spawn more twisters and damaging winds.
The storms caused widespread damage on Tuesday in Salado, about 80 kilometres north of state capital Austin.
Bell County Judge David Blackburn said 23 people were injured, one of them critically. Twelve of the injured were taken to hospital, Blackburn said.
"There's not much left," said Blackburn, the county's top elected official.
"Large trees are uprooted and overturned and stripped. Buildings really reduced to rubble ... Power lines, power poles, are scattered all over the place. It's pretty devastating."
Tornadoes were also spotted Tuesday in Iowa, but there were no reports of serious injuries.
In Lincoln, Nebraska, powerful wind gusts knocked down tree limbs and caused some roof damage, while a possible tornado also caused damage in the small southern Minnesota town of Taopi.
More tornadoes are forecast for Wednesday for parts of the mid-South and in the Mississippi River Valley, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Hurricane-force winds, intense tornadoes and large hail were possible in Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Alabama.
Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, were among the cities that could see the worst weather Wednesday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Australian Associated Press
