At least 16 killed as storms, tornadoes sweep through central, southern U.S.

HOUSTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Severe weather, including dust storms and tornadoes, has battered vast areas in central and southern U.S. states since Friday, claiming at least 16 lives and causing widespread havoc.

Ten people were killed in the midwestern U.S. state of Missouri after a tornado outbreak, said the Missouri State Highway Patrol Saturday, quoted by the Associated Press.

According to a weather.com report on Saturday, at least six tornadoes hit the state overnight.

In Arkansas, officials said Saturday that three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured in eight counties as storms moved through the state overnight.

As many as 23 tornadoes were reported across the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi overnight.

In northern Texas, state police said up to 38 vehicles crashed during a massive dust storm on Friday, killing three people.

The severe weather also triggered more than 150 wildfires in the central U.S. state of Oklahoma, forcing mandatory evacuations in some areas, local media reported.

As of 9 a.m. Central Time (1400 GMT) on Saturday, severe weather had left about 270,000 homes and businesses without power across large areas in multiple states, according to the poweroutage.us website.

U.S. meteorologists warned that extreme weather conditions, including powerful tornadoes and large hail, could continue through the weekend.