12 killed by storms and flooding in South and Midwest

In Missouri, Arkansas and Texas

TEXAS – At least 11 people have been killed by tornadoes or flooding in the South and Midwest by a storm that also dumped a rare late-season blizzard in western Kansas on Sunday.

Tornadoes hit several small towns in East Texas, killing four people. Three people were killed by flooding and winds in Arkansas, with officials saying two more people are missing. Rushing water swept away a car, drowning a woman in Missouri; and a death was reported in Sunday morning storms that raked Mississippi.

Flooding closed part of Interstate 44 near Hazelgreen, Missouri, and officials expected it would be at least a day before the highway reopened. Interstate 70 in western Kansas was closed because crews were waiting for snow falling at 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) an hour being blown by 35 mph (56 km/hr) winds to subside.

An Arkansas volunteer fire department chief was killed while working during storms in north-central Arkansas, state police said.

Cove Creek/Pearson Fire Chief Doug Decker died shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday after being struck by a vehicle while checking water levels on Highway 25 near Quitman, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Little Rock, Trooper Liz Chapman said. It wasn't known if he will be included as a storm-related death, she said.

A 2-year-old girl in Tennessee died after being struck by a heavy, metal soccer goal post that was blown over by high winds, The Metro Nashville Police Department posted on its Twitter page on Sunday evening.

Melanie Espinoza Rodriguez was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to a second post from the department.

Middle Tennessee was hit by a strong line of storms that knocked down trees and power lines earlier Sunday.

Rescuers in northwest Arkansas continued Sunday to look for an 18-month-old girl and a 4-year-old boy who were in a vehicle swept off a bridge by floodwaters in Hindsville, the Madison County Sheriff's Office said.

In northwest Arkansas, a 10-year-old girl drowned in Springdale and the body of a woman who disappeared riding an inner tube Saturday was found in a creek in Eureka Springs. Also, a 65-year-old woman in DeWitt in the eastern part of the state was struck and killed in her home by a falling tree, officials said.

Texas

In Texas, search teams were going door to door Sunday after the tornadoes the day before flattened homes, uprooted trees and flipped several pickup trucks at a Dodge dealership in Canton.

WATCH: Officials discuss the details of the severe storm damage in Canton, Texas

"It is heartbreaking and upsetting to say the least," Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett told reporters at a news conference Sunday morning.

The storms cut a path of destruction 35 miles (56 kilometers) long and 15 miles (24 kilometers) wide in Van Zandt County, Everett said. The largely rural area is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Dallas.

The National Weather Service found evidence of four tornadoes with one twister possibly on the ground for 50 miles (80 km).

The first reports of tornadoes came about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, but emergency crews were hampered by continuing severe weather, said Judge Don Kirkpatrick, the chief executive for Van Zandt County.

"We'd be out there working and get a report of another tornado on the ground," he said.

The storms rolled through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday with strong winds causing isolated pockets of damage. In Durant in central Mississippi on person died in the storms. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency didn't give details.

[WATCH: Gov. Abbott provides update on storm damages in Canton]

Alexa Haik went to bed Saturday night expecting just rain, but heard the sirens Sunday morning and turned on the television to see the tornado warning. She rounded up her pets and hid in a hallway with her family, then was stunned to emerge to trees down all in her neighborhood in Clinton, Mississippi, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Jackson.

A trip up the road showed how isolated the worst of the storms were. "I really thought when we got out of our neighborhood, there would be damage everywhere. But our little subdivision was the only one hit," Haik said.

Missouri

Rainstorms began Friday around the state, bringing large amounts of rainfall and causing flooding, the weather service said.

A couple was left stranded in their car when flood waters began to rise in Christian County, officials said.

Despite the husband's efforts to rescue his wife, their car was swept away with the 72-year-old woman inside. The woman's body was found Saturday in a field near Clever, Missouri.

At least 150 roads, mostly in southern Missouri, were closed by flooding, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

A total of 93 evacuations and 33 water rescues were reported Saturday, Gov. Eric Greitens said.

"Our standing first responders are working to protect life and property in this storm. Grateful for their work. Stay home. Stay safe," he wrote on Twitter.