At least 26 people have been killed in a monster storm sweeping across much of the U.S. Kansas authorities said eight people died in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm Friday.

A sprawling storm system crossing the U.S. has caused deadly crashes, damaged buildings and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states, prompting evacuation orders in some communities.

A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma has lumbered eastward into the Deep South and elsewhere.

Another blast of winter storms is closing schools, snarling flights and putting millions of residents on alert across parts of the Deep South and south-central U.S. The storm started dumping a mix of sleet and heavy snow Thursday in north Texas and Oklahoma, where schools canceled classes for more than 1 million students.