The weather cut a swathe of destruction across an area of the country that is home to more than 100 million people.

Violent tornadoes and high winds decimated homes, wiped out schools and toppled semitractor-trailers as a monster storm that killed at least 32 people ripped its way across the central and

Tornadoes hit the US Midwest and Southeast overnight, killing three in Missouri and causing widespread damage. Forecasters warn of a “high risk” threat for Mississippi and Alabama as storms intensify.