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.

Two of the tornado deaths occurred in southern Missouri in the Bakersfield area of Ozark County, about four hours south of Kansas City, and a third death was reported in Butler County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other officials said. Some people were injured, the highway patrol reported, but no numbers were immediately available.