In the U.S. state of Arkansas, six people have died in a wave of violent storms.

The weather system that hit Arkansas early Friday has been sweeping across parts of the central and midwestern United States. Powerful storms with winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour have been accompanied by heavy rains and hail.

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings along a line of storms stretching from Texas through Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Strong winds, possibly a tornado, that whipped through an area of Kansas City, Missouri, ripped apart some homes and damaged at least 200 structures.

More weather alerts are expected later Friday, as the weather system moves eastward.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.