Thunderstorms packing tornadoes and hail as big as softballs ripped through eight Midwestern states, killing at least 27 people, injuring scores and destroying hundreds of homes.

Tennessee was hit hardest, with tornadoes striking five counties Sunday and killing 23 people. The Highway Patrol sent teams with search dogs to a 25-mile stretch between Newbern and Bradford on Monday to check the debris for anyone who might still be trapped.

Severe thunderstorms, many producing tornadoes, also struck parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Strong wind was blamed or at least three deaths in Missouri. A clothing store collapsed in southern Illinois, killing one man.

The weather service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it had preliminary reports of 63 tornadoes.

One of the dead in Tennessee was a baby, said Coleman Foss, CEO of Dyersburg Regional Medical Center. Also killed were a family of four from Bradford, officials said.

Tennessee officials estimated 1,200 buildings were damaged in Gibson County alone.

About a half-dozen tornadoes struck Arkansas and one destroyed nearly half of the town of Marmaduke, according to a fire department official.

About 30 miles from Newbern, a tornado caused extensive damage to the southeast Missouri city of Caruthersville, although Mayor Diane Sayre said there were no known deaths in the city of 6,700.

An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 families were displaced, said emergency official Bill Pippins.

One Kentucky county declared a state of emergency early Monday as rescue workers struggled to get to rural areas where roads were blocked by power lines and trees.

There were no immediate reports of tornadoes in Ohio, but the state was ripped by high wind.

In mid-March, tornadoes spun off by another huge storm system killed nine people in Missouri and injured dozens in Illinois. Initial reports indicated that system was responsible for more than 100 twisters in five states from Oklahoma to Illinois, the National Weather Service said.

Source: Agencies