Violent tornadoes and high winds have 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 southern U.

Eleven storm-related fatalities were reported in the Missouri counties of Ozark, Butler, Wayne and Jefferson, the state highway patrol said. Three people were confirmed dead in Independence County, Arkansas, the state's emergency management division said. Four were reported dead in Texas, officials said Saturday.

About 47 million people faced an enhanced to moderate severe storm threat from Madison, Wisconsin, to Birmingham, Alabama.