More than 40 dead after severe weather hits 7 states

At least 41 people in seven states have been killed since Wednesday due to severe weather, including 11 Texans who died after tornadoes ripped through the Dallas area on Saturday.

In Marion County, Illinois, five people were killed Saturday after a storm brought blizzard conditions and flash flooding, the sheriff's office said, and in central Missouri, seven people died in flooding incidents. Weather-related deaths have also been reported in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. In Texas, 11 people died after tornadoes touched down in Collin County and the Dallas suburb of Garland. Dozens of people remain hospitalized, and in Rowlett, 39 homes were "totally destroyed," City Manager Brian Funderburk told ABC News.

Tornadoes have caused at least 20 deaths across the United States so far this month, making December 2015 the second-deadliest December on record and the deadliest month of the year, Greg Carbin of the Storm Prediction Center told USA Today. December is typically the quietest month for tornadoes.

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