Multiple tornadoes touched down near Oklahoma City on Friday, killing at least five people and sending residents scrambling to find shelter.

The medical examiner's office said late Friday that five people were killed in Oklahoma City suburbs, including a mother and baby.  

Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the bodies of a woman and her infant were found in a vehicle west of the city on Interstate 40.

Trooper Betsy Randolph said it's not known if the woman was driving into the storm when it hit Friday evening, causing havoc on the roads.

Officials said a number of people were injured along I-40, as cars and trucks were toppled by the strong winds.

The tornado emergency declarations issued by the U.S. National Weather Service expired shortly after 9 p.m. local time. However, floodwaters of up to four feet deep, strong winds reaching 145 kilometres per hour and hail continued to hamper rescue efforts.

Earlier in the evening, storm chasers captured video that showed a number of funnels dropping from the supercell thunderstorm as it passed south of El Reno and into Oklahoma City, just south of downtown.

Speaking to CNN, Randolph described the situation on the roads as “dire”, with some highways experiencing bumper-to-bumper traffic as the storm approached during the evening rush hour. 

“Exit the interstate and seek immediate shelter,” she said. “The best place to be is underground.”

Damaging winds from the storm hit Moore, Oklahoma, where last week a powerful tornado left 24 dead and injured more than 300 others.

At Will Rogers World Airport southwest of Oklahoma City, passengers were directed into underground tunnels as flights were delayed.

Damage was also reported in Canadian County, immediately to the west of the capital city. Television cameras showed debris falling from the sky and power transformers being knocked out by high winds.

Well before Oklahoma's first thunderstorms began late afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center forecasted a violent evening and warned residents to keep an eye to the sky and an ear out for sirens.

The same storm system was threatening residents of Missouri Friday night, where residents in St. Louis were warned to take cover.

With files from The Associated Press