Severe storms bringing high winds, tornadoes and unrelenting rain to the United States' south and midwest have been blamed for the deaths of at least 11 people.

Key points: Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power

Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power Arkansas has declared a state of emergency

Arkansas has declared a state of emergency A number of states have issued flash flood warnings

Storm-related fatalities were reported in Texas due to icy weather, in Alabama from a deadly tornado and in Louisiana, where winds were so strong that a trailer home was lifted off its foundation and carried up to 100 metres.

A man drowned in Oklahoma and the storms even touched the midwest where there was at least one death on an icy highway in Iowa.

Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power from Texas to Ohio, parts of highways were closed in Oklahoma and Arkansas due to flooding and hundreds of flights were cancelled at Chicago's international airports.

Lucy Faulk, three, runs through puddles near a destroyed structure on her family's land in Arkansas. ( AP: Tommy Metthe via The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette )

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency to assist crews working to restore power around the state.

Two emergency services staff were killed and another was critically injured in Lubbock, Texas, after they were hit by a vehicle while working at the scene of a traffic accident in icy conditions, officials said.

Lubbock Police Chief Floyd Mitchell called it an "extremely tragic day" for the city.

Another person died in Dallas, Texas, on Friday night when a car flipped into a creek as severe thunderstorms passed through.

A man drowned near Kiowa, Oklahoma, after he was swept away in floodwaters, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said on Saturday.

Several people were killed in Louisiana, including an elderly couple whose bodies were found near their trailer home. ( AP: Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office )

In Alabama, three people were confirmed dead near Carrollton in Pickens County, the National Weather Service in Birmingham said on Twitter.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said the deaths were caused by an "embedded tornado within a long line of intense thunderstorms".

The National Weather Service in Shreveport, Louisiana, said a tornado with winds of about 217 kilometres per hour had touched down in Bossier Parish.

Firefighters found the bodies of an elderly couple near their demolished trailer in Benton, Louisiana, the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office said via Facebook.

About 91,000 customers were without power in Alabama on Saturday evening, according to Alabama Power.

The storm created high waves at Lake Michigan. ( AP: Ashlee Rezin Garcia via Chicago Sun-Times )

PowerOutage.us said Georgia had about 105,000 power outages on Saturday evening, with tens of thousands of outages also reported in Mississippi and Louisiana. Outages were reported from Texas to Michigan.

On Alabama's Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service warned of high winds and flooding and the potential for three-metre-high waves on beaches.

Many streams were already at or near flood levels because of earlier storms, and heavy rains could lead to flash flooding across the region, forecasters said.

Parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana were under flash flood warnings or watches on Saturday.

The storms, bringing the threat of ice and snow to the Chicago area, prompted the cancellation of more than 1,200 flights at Chicago's two main airports.

AP