C.E. Branham / The News and Tribune via AP

A school bus is crushed into a business on the east side of U.S. 31 in Henryville, Ind., after powerful storms stretching from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes in the north wrecked two small towns and killed at least eight people Friday, March 2.

C.E. Branham / The News and Tribune via AP

Fireman examine damage at a school in Henryville, Ind., after powerful storms stretching from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes in the north wrecked two small towns and killed at least eight people on March 2.

Slideshow: Early season tornado outbreak

Severe storms and tear through the midwest and southern states.

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At least six people were confirmed dead in two southern Indiana counties, and there were reports of three other possible tornado-related deaths, including one in the town of Henryville, where television images showed homes blown apart.  

Major Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff's office said there was extensive damage to a school in Henryville, but added: "All the children are out. No injuries to any of them, just minor scrapes and abrasions."

Storm warnings were issued from the Midwest to the Southeast. Schools, government offices and businesses closed ahead of the storms, which came after a series of tornadoes earlier in the week killed 13 people in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.

-- The Associated Press

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Courtesy of Evan Bentley

This tornado spotted two miles west of Henryville, Ind. before it crossed I-65 around noon on March 2.

Gary Cosby Jr / The Decatur Daily via AP

Greg Cook hugs his friend David Derrick at East Limestone community on Friday, March 2. A reported tornado destroyed several houses in northern Alabama as storms threatened more twisters across the region Friday.

Slideshow: Early season tornado outbreak

Severe storms and tear through the midwest and southern states.

Launch slideshow

Multiple tornadoes tore paths across Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana on Friday, leaving an undetermined number of people injured, and homes and businesses destroyed, emergency officials and forecasters said. 

A "very large super-cell" of tornadoes touched down in northern Alabama early in the day, damaging homes and a prison and injuring at least four people. In southern Tennessee, another twister ripped 20 homes off their foundations and submerged boats, officials said.

Related link:

• Three reported killed in Indiana as tornadoes sweep Midwest, South
• Slideshow: Early-season tornado outbreak