Eight people were killed in three states due to violent storms that swept through a swath of the central U.S.

As forecast the violent storms arrived on Tuesday night and early Wednesday; just days after a huge tornado entered the southwest Missouri town of Joplin killing 123 people and injuring more than 750.

Five people died when tornadoes touched down west of Oklahoma City, officials told local media. Two more died in Kansas when high winds tossed a tree into a vehicle, he added.

In Kansas, two people died when high winds threw a tree into their van, police said.

Tornado sirens sounded about 9:30 p.m., and again shortly after 10 on Tuesday night.

The Tornado with the speed of more than 200 mph which hit Joplin was the nation's eighth-deadliest twister among records dating to 1840.

U.S.