May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Tornadoes and storms swept across Arkansas today, killing seven people and destroying scores of homes outside Little Rock.

Twisters also touched down in Texas, arriving just a day after tornadoes ripped through Kansas City, Missouri, damaging hundreds of houses.

``It's the same song, 10th verse for us,'' said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management in Little Rock, the capital. ``This is at least our fourth day of tornadoes or heavy storms this year. Our citizens have gone through a lot.''

More than 20 Arkansans have now been killed since January, marking an unusually early start to tornado season, Jackson said.

May is typically the worst month for twisters in the southern state, where warm air from the Gulf of Mexico collides with cooler air from the north, spawning storms.

In Siloam Springs, a girl was killed today when a storm toppled a tree onto her bedroom as she slept, Jackson said.

More than 80 homes were flattened in a half-dozen counties surrounding Little Rock, with Cleburne, Van Buren and Pulaski counties suffering the worst hits, said the emergency management department.

About as many homes were damaged and three businesses were destroyed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Demian McLean in Washington at dmclean8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 2, 2008 15:51 EDT