Storms kill at least 22 across multiple US states

The storms inflicted their worst damage in a region spanning from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas. On Monday, forecasters said, the greatest risk would shift to the east, covering a broad swath of the country from Alabama to near New York City.

Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night ploughed through a rural area near a mobile home park, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a news conference Sunday. The dead included two children, ages two and five. Three family members were found dead in one home, according to the county sheriff.

Eight people died statewide in Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a news conference on Sunday evening. An emergency official said two of the deaths were attributed to the circumstances of the storm but not directly caused by weather, including a person who suffered a heart attack and another who was deprived of oxygen due to a loss of electricity.

In Oklahoma, two people died in Mayes County, east of Tulsa, officials said. The injured included guests at an outdoor wedding.

Three people have died in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency early Monday in a post on X, citing "multiple reports of wind damage and tornadoes".

In Texas, about 100 people were injured and more than 200 homes and structures destroyed, Abbott said, sitting in front of a ravaged truck stop near the small agricultural community of Valley View. The area was among the hardest hit, with winds reaching an estimated 217km/h officials said.

"The hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses have literally been crushed by storm after storm," said Abbott, whose state has seen successive bouts of severe weather, including storms that killed eight people in Houston earlier this month.

The destruction continued a grim month of deadly severe weather in the nation's midsection.

Tornadoes in Iowa last week left at least five people dead and dozens injured. The deadly twisters have spawned during a historically bad season for tornadoes, at a time when climate change contributes to the severity of storms around the world. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country.

Meteorologists and authorities issued urgent warnings to seek cover as the storms marched across the region late Saturday and into Sunday.

"If you are in the path of this storm take cover now!" the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, posted on X.

Harold Brooks, a senior scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, said a persistent pattern of warm, moist air is to blame for the string of tornadoes over the past two months.

Australian Associated Press