The US midwest was being battered by severe storms and tornadoes Sunday, with one powerful twister laying waste to Peoria, Illinois and others wreaking damage elsewhere in the region.

The dangerous weather also caused the National Football League to suspend a game in Chicago partway through, asking fans and players to take cover in the stadium.

A panoramic photo from a newscaster in central Illinois, posted to her Twitter account, showed an intersection reduced to piles of rubble.

"Absolute destruction," Alexandra Sutter, a news reporter for WMBD31, wrote of what she could see.

Her station was off the air Sunday, posting on its website that the studio of the Fox affiliate "has taken a power hit to its transmitter and has no signal."

A photo posted to the station's Facebook page showed someone holding a tennis ball-sized piece of hail.

A local news report from nearby Washington, Illinois spoke of two tornadoes damaging that town and the town of Pekin, with an apartment complex and several homes damaged or destroyed.

There are early reports of some injuries, but information remains scant.

The National Weather Service warned of a "particularly dangerous situation" for parts of the central United States, with tornado watches in seven states from Missouri to Michigan.

"Several rapidly-moving, intense tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, large hail events and damaging winds are expected in these watch areas," the US weather service said.

"A High or Moderate Risk of severe weather is in effect for most of the Upper Midwest and Ohio Valley," it added.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens were recalled to their lockers rooms in Chicago with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter due to the severe weather.

The delay was expected to last just under two hours, with the Ravens tweeting the game was set to resume no earlier than 3:25 pm eastern time (2025 GMT).