Dozens of warnings are being issued in rapid-fire succession Saturday afternoon in Mississippi and soon Alabama. Several storms are producing what appear to be large, long-lived tornadoes. Forecasters at the National Weather Service are pleading with residents to stay aware of the weather and heed the warnings today;

At least 19 people have died in the US - including 11 in Missouri alone - after deadly tornadoes tore through several south-eastern states, flipping cars and flattening homes. Three people were killed in a car crash during a fierce dust storm in Texas, while deaths have also occurred in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Three people were killed in Missouri as a series of tornadoes hit the U.S. Midwest and southeast overnight, raking a path of destruction that was still being assessed early on Saturday, police said.