(AP) -- At least 31 deaths have been reported from a large, stubborn storm system making its way through the South after pummeling the central U.S.

In Mississippi, officials say nine people died Monday, seven of them in hard-hit Winston County. Two others died in separate instances of vehicles being blown off roadways.

In Alabama, three people were reported dead, two in the northern part of the state and one in Tuscaloosa. There, officials say a University of Alabama student died Monday when he took shelter in a home's basement and a retaining wall collapsed on him.

Tennessee officials say two people died in a home when a suspected tornado hit Monday night.

On Sunday, 15 were killed as a tornado blasted through Arkansas. One person died in Oklahoma, and one in Iowa.