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.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings early Saturday for areas in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Texas.

A powerful low-pressure system is likely to spawn a dangerous outbreak of severe thunderstorms in portions of the Midwest, South and East, where tornadoes, widespread damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding are all concerns.