Part of the damage caused by the hurricane in Arkansas
Four people have been killed and at least 24 injured after devastating tornadoes lashed US states.
A powerful tornado toppled cars, smashed roofs and downed trees in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Many buildings were also severely damaged, according to aerial photos published by the Weather Channel.
And 90 million people in 15 US states remain at risk.
A state of emergency was also declared in Missouri, amid reports of two tornadoes hitting Iowa.
Snow the size of a golf ball fell in Illinois, damaging windshields.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and instructed the deployment of National Guard forces in the state after what she described as “extreme damage” in central Arkansas.
Frank Scott Jr., the mayor of Little Rock, tweeted that the tornado that struck the city was “devastating”.
He said in a tweet he posted on Friday evening that no deaths had been reported due to the hurricane so far, but that “there is significant property damage.”
And the Medical Center of the College of Medicine in Little Rock announced that it expects to receive between 15 and 20 injured people.
The Baptist Health Care Center, the largest hospital in the state, confirmed that it had received five patients in serious condition.
This comes a week after a rare hurricane killed 26 people in Mississippi, which US President Joe Biden visited to offer condolences to the families of the victims, a visit during which he promised federal aid to the state.
Thunderstorm warnings were issued for some places in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center.
image copyright GettyImages
The Mississippi hurricane severely damaged about 2,000 homes
And the administration warned in its weather forecast that some hurricanes may blow on land for long distances.
Bill Benting, head of operations at the Storm Prediction Centre, told the BBC the last time two separate “high risk” warnings were issued at the same time was in April 2012.
Mississippi tornado cut about 94 kilometers last week, and lasted for about an hour and ten minutes, which is a very long time in light of the storm’s ability to maintain its momentum. Officials said that the hurricane caused severe damage to about 2,000 homes in the area.
About 79,000 people in Arkansas are experiencing power outages, according to Poweroutages.us.
Power was also lost to more than 28,000 homes in Oklahoma, which reports said was the result of strong winds toppling power lines, as well as caused by grass fires. Missouri, Arkansas and Texas also experienced power outages.
Police said that two Iowa tornadoes hit a field, but did not cause any major losses or injuries.
But it is not yet clear whether the storm’s strength came as a result of climate change, and linking these hurricanes to global warming involves a degree of complexity.
The Earth’s temperature has risen by about 1.2 degrees since the beginning of the industrial era, and temperatures are expected to continue to rise unless governments around the world take action to bring about sharp cuts in carbon emissions, according to the United Nations Climate Panel.
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