HOUSTON – At least two people were killed and several others injured on Wednesday night after a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” tore through Cole, a town in southern central US state Oklahoma, said the authorities.

The McClain County Sheriff’s Office confirmed at least two deaths in Cole, located 48km south of state capital Oklahoma City.

The office said on Facebook that it is responding to “reported injuries and persons entrapped within their shelters”.

The town has been “hit significantly”, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Eric Foster.

Power lines were down and there were outages in the town on Wednesday night, according to an ABC News report.

By Thursday, a line of severe storms is forecast to stretch from Austin in the southern state of Texas to St Louis in the Midwestern state of Missouri, packing damaging winds and large hail, said the report. XINHUA