14 die amid chaos of rain, wind, snow

CANTON, Tex. — At least 14 people died in tornadoes or flooding in the South and Midwest from a storm system that also dumped a rare late-season blizzard in western Kansas on Sunday.

Tornadoes hit several small towns in East Texas, killing four people. Five people were killed by flooding and winds in Arkansas, including a fire chief who was struck by a vehicle while working during the storm.

Two deaths were reported in Missouri, including a woman who drowned after rushing water swept away a car. One of two deaths in Mississippi included a 7-year-old who died by electric shock and a 2-year-old girl in Tennessee who was hit by a soccer goal post hurled by heavy winds.

Flooding closed part of Interstate 44 near Hazelgreen, Mo., 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 an hour being blown by 35 mph winds to subside.

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 floodwater swept off a bridge in Hindsville, the Madison County sheriff’s office said.

In Texas, search teams were going door to door Sunday after the tornadoes the day before flattened home and uprooted trees.