2 dead in Missouri flash flood; tornado threat in the South

DECATUR, TEXAS >> Two people died early Friday in Missouri when a car was swept away during torrential rains that were part of a severe weather system roaring across parts of the Midwest and South.

The accident happened just after midnight in a sparsely populated area of southwestern Missouri. Authorities said six young adults were in the vehicle that was swept away as the car tried to cross a bridge over a flooded creek in the town of Grovespring.

Four of the six made it out of the water. But the body of Devon Holt, 20, of Grovespring, was found at 3:30 a.m., and the body of Alexander Roman-ranelli, 19, of Springfield, was recovered about six hours later, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Thomas Young said.

The driver told authorities that torrential rains made it difficult to see that water from a creek had covered the bridge, Young said.

Meanwhile, the search continued in another southwestern Missouri county for a woman who was missing after flash flooding from a small river washed a car off the road. The Logan Rogersville Fire Protection District said the victim’s dog was found safe, but there was no sign of the woman. Two others who were in the car were rescued.

Some parts of southern Missouri saw nearly 3 inches of rain Thursday night and into Friday morning, and severe weather was hitting other areas, too. A suspected tornado touched down early Friday in north Texas as a volatile storm system threatened to spawn tornadoes in several Southern states.

Matt Elliott, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said severe weather is expected across several states.

“We’re talking several tornadoes, including some that might be strong and intense,” Elliott said.