MAYFLOWER, Arkansas (AP) _ A tornado system ripped through the central U.S. and left at least 17 dead in a violent start to this year's storm season, officials said.

  The tornado touched down Sunday about 10 miles west of Little Rock, Arkansas, then carved an 80-mile path of destruction as it passed through or near several suburbs north of the state capital, including Vilonia. It grew to be a half-mile wide and remained on the ground for much of that route, killing 16 people in that state.

   The tornado was the largest of several produced by a powerful storm system that rumbled through the central and southern U.S.  Another twister killed a person in Quapaw, Oklahoma, before crossing into Kansas to the north and destroying 60 to 70 homes and injuring 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs, according to authorities in Kansas. A death was reported in Baxter Springs, but it wasn't yet known if it was caused by the tornado. 

 Among the ruins in Arkansas was a new $14 million intermediate school that was set to open this fall.

 ``There's just really nothing there anymore. We're probably going to have to start all over again,'' Vilonia Schools Superintendent Frank Mitchell said after surveying what was left of the building.

 Emergency workers and volunteers went door-to-door to look for victims. Law enforcement officers checked the damaged and toppled 18-wheelers, cars and trucks on a stretch of Interstate 40, a major thoroughfare in and out of the state's capital.

 ``It turned pitch black,'' said Mark Ausbrooks, who was at his parents' home when the storm arrived. ``I ran and got pillows to put over our heads and ... all hell broke loose.''

 ``My parents' home, it's gone completely,'' he said.

 Tornadoes also touched down in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

 Forecasters had warned for days that violent weather would strike over the weekend.

 In Arkansas, Pulaski County Sheriff's Lt. Carl Minden said three people were killed when a tornado destroyed a home west of Little Rock. Minden said several others were injured at the scene.

 ``I'm standing on the foundation of the house now. It's totally gone,'' Minden told The Associated Press by phone.

 In Oklahoma, Ottawa County Emergency Management director Joe Dan Morgan said Quapaw, which has about 900 residents, was heavily damaged.

 ``Looks like about half of town got extensive damage as well as the fire department,'' Morgan said.

 Authorities earlier had said two were killed in Quapaw. Sheriff's dispatcher Kelli Soechs declined to explain the discrepancy.

 Six people were treated for tornado-related injuries at Baptist Regional Health Center, said hospital spokeswoman Kristie Wallace.

 The Missouri Highway Patrol reported a tractor-trailer was blown onto its side on Interstate 70. No one was injured.