High winds are whipping up wildfires in Texas on Friday as a roiling low pressure system moves east and threatens to land powerful tornadoes in the Plains and beyond.

Severe weather warnings remain in place throughout the weekend as extreme conditions, including a tornado outbreak, threatens the South.

At least three people have died as a powerful system of storms sweeps across a wide swathe of the central and southern of the United States, with another three killed in vehicle crashes as blinding winds whipped through Texas and Oklahoma.