At least 19 people have died as an outbreak of tornadoes ravished through the South and Midwest early Saturday morning, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

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 southern U.

An "outbreak" of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms is expected through Saturday night in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and other southern states.

A line of severe thunderstorms, the first extreme weather event of the year, will hit the Chicago area around midnight Friday, according to the National Weather Service.