Severe Weather Across South And Central US Leaves 16 Dead

A trail of severe weather over the weekend that included tornadoes, flooding and heavy winds ravished part of the central and southern United States, leaving 16 people dead, including a 2-year-old girl who was killed by a flying goal post in Tennessee.

The storm left a trail of destruction in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, with deadly tornadoes in Texas killing four in the town of Canton, located east of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At least 11 more deaths have been attributed to the pattern of severe weather.

In Texas, the National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes had touched down in east Texas Saturday. Much of the damage was isolated to the town of Canton. Officials said the Canton tornado was at least a half-mile wide as it moved through town, striking nearby Emory and Fruitvale. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott surveyed the damage in Texas, visiting with those whose homes had been destroyed.

At least one person was killed when a tornado lifted a car in the air and tossed it back to the ground with passengers still inside, according to officials. The East Texas Medical Center system hospitals in the area took in 54 patients, with one of those in critical condition. None of the other patients were suffering life-threatening injuries, officials said.

In Mississippi, officials were surveying the affected areas for storm damage, and as of Monday, the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, had confirmed that four EF-1 tornadoes had been confirmed with Sunday's storms. The state's emergency management agency said two storm-related deaths had been confirmed — a person in the town of Durant and a child in Rankin County, who died from an electric shock suffered in floodwaters.

A 72-year-old woman drowned even as her husband tried to save her as the car they were in was swept away by rushing waters in Clever, Missouri, reports the Kansas City Star. Two others also lost their lives in the state due to the storm, the paper reported. In Arkansas, five people were killed in the severe weather, the Associated Press reported, including a person who died after a tree fell on a home in the town of De Witt. In Antioch, Tennessee, a 2-year-old girl was killed Sunday when a metal soccer goal fell on her at a soccer complex. Another storm-related death was reported in the southern part of the state, where a woman died after being hit by a fallen tree, WHNT reported.

Governors in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma all declared a state of emergency because of the severe weather.

Bryan Kirk contributed reporting

Image via NWS Fort Worth