U.S. tornado, flood deaths reach 18, more storms ahead

(Reuters) - The death toll from tornadoes and flooding this
week in the southern United States climbed to 18 on
Saturday, according to officials and local media, as the
nation braced for more stormy weather over the busy post-
holiday travel weekend.
The bodies of a man and a woman missing since they
were caught in a tornado in Benton County, Mississippi, on
Wednesday were found by search and rescue teams on
Saturday morning, said Greg Flynn, spokesman for
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
The cause of their deaths was not disclosed, but they
brought the total dead from tornadoes in Mississippi to 10,
in addition to 56 people injured, officials said.
The tornado damaged 403 homes over a seven-county
area in the state, Flynn said. In addition, flooding left 50
homes uninhabitable and closed 40 roads in Monroe
County, which got 10 to 12 inches (about 25 to 30 cm) of
rain, he said.
The tornadoes also killed six people in Tennessee and one
each in Arkansas and Alabama, bringing the three-state
total to 18.
State authorities on Saturday told local broadcaster WTVY
that they had recovered the body of a 5-year-old boy who
drowned when the car he was in was swept into
floodwaters on Friday. A 22-year-old man who was in the
car remains missing, the station said.
The National Weather Service warned of a "tornadic
supercell" moving toward downtown Dallas on Saturday
evening and there were reports of debris falling from the
sky onto a highway in nearby DeSoto.
Weather officials also warned of likely tornados hitting near
the Texas towns of Rowlett, Wylie and Lavon. Flash flood
and tornado warnings extended into Saturday night for the
region, according to the weather service.
U.S. post-holiday travelers can expect a mix of stormy
weather this weekend, with blizzard conditions in New
Mexico and western Texas, while flooding rain hits the
southern plains from south Texas through Indiana,
forecasters said.
In California, high winds fanned a wildfire that closed parts
of the much-traveled Highway 101 northwest of Los
Angeles and forced evacuations, fire officials said.
The wet and snowy conditions come after a Christmas
Day of unseasonable warmth on the East Coast, with
record-high temperatures set or tied in several cities,
including New York.
"It's going to be a pretty active weekend as far as winter
weather," said Evan Duffey, meteorologist for AccuWeather.
"It looks like it's going to be pretty bad across the
southwest into the southern plains."
Duffey said that given the blizzard conditions expected for
Saturday, anyone hoping to travel in Texas, Oklahoma and
Kansas "should try to get going as soon as you can" to
beat the storm.