Kentucky tornadoes: death toll from record twisters expected to exceed 100

The death toll from record tornadoes that roared across hundreds of miles this weekend is expected to exceed 100 in Kentucky alone, with dozens still unaccounted for as crews scramble to search wreckage.

One tornado that tore through four states over four hours of nighttime devastation is believed to be the longest distance for a tornado in US history, leaving destruction, death and a frantic search by survivors to find family and shelter, from Arkansas to Kentucky.

Beshear said the path of devastation was about 227 miles (365km) long, which, if confirmed, would surpass the 218-mile so-called Tri-State tornado in 1925, which killed at least 695 people and destroyed 15,000 homes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Temperatures were below freezing in the night in Mayfield, Kentucky, a small city largely leveled by winds estimated at up to 200mph. Survivors were struggling Sunday with lack of power and running water.

Tragedy struck that city of just 10,000 people hardest, after the massive twister flattened a candle factory where about 110 employees were working the night shift on Friday into Saturday and only around 40 have so far been accounted for.

Beshear said on Sunday that no one has been found alive in wreckage in the town since shortly after 3am on Saturday.

A vast storm front moved across the Mississippi basin and parts of the US south-east and midwest on Friday night, spawning more than 30 tornadoes.