At least two people were killed in Mississippi and three in Oklahoma as severe weather moved through the Southeast and caused injuries or storm damage in several states.
Oklahoma authorities say an Arkansas man has become the third person to die in an auto accident due to icy roads following the storm.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a Hot Springs man died yesterday afternoon when the van he was riding in went off icy U.S. 183 just north of Seiling and overturned. A second person in the van was hospitalized in stable condition following the crash while four others in the van were treated and released.
Others killed in accidents on slick roadways in Oklahoma are a 16-year-old boy who died early Saturday after his car crashed and overturned on U.S. 64 near Tulsa and a woman was killed Friday night in a collision on a slick roadway in northwest Oklahoma City.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reported that one death took place in Coahoma County, in the northwestern part of the state, and another in Jasper County in the central part of the state. Injuries were also reported in Marshall, Panola, and Tunica counties, while power outages and building damage were reported in Bolivar, Desoto, Lafayette, Perry, Tate, and Union counties.
In addition, two apparent tornadoes touched down in Arkansas on Saturday, injuring at least five people and damaging about two dozen homes.
St. Francis County (Ark.) Sheriff's dispatcher Leslie White said a suspected tornado damaged three homes and injured three people late Saturday afternoon near Hughes, a town of roughly 1,400 residents about 35 miles southwest of Memphis, Tenn. She didn't know the severity of the injuries.
David Cox, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Jackson, Miss., said another apparent tornado struck near Dermott, Ark., which is in far southwest of the state. Two people were injured in that strike and about 20 homes were damaged, he said.
The Crittenden County Sheriff's office said vehicles were pushed off of Interstate 40 just west of West Memphis by what may have been powerful straight-line winds.
Traffic on the highway was backed up for several miles in both directions due to five or six traffic accidents, said Bill Sadler, an Arkansas State Patrol spokesman.
Forecasters warned of possible tornadoes on Saturday for an area stretching from southern Louisiana to southern Indiana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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