High winds, heavy rain and tornadoes pounded parts of the Midwest and the South, leaving at least nine people dead, stranding people in cars, forcing others from their homes and leaving thousands without power.
The death toll in Kentucky on Saturday reached eight, including a father and his 1-year-old daughter in a truck that skidded into floodwaters. In Arkansas, a woman whose boat was struck by lightning died and authorities were searching for two missing people.
Officials urged people to stay off the roads as forecasters warned of more stormy weather to come.
"We have a lot of people driving past the high water signs and they are getting stuck," Kentucky State Police dispatcher John Reynolds said. "We are telling people if they can avoid going out, they ought to."
The National Weather Service reported that areas of Kentucky received at least 5 inches of rain, with isolated regions getting close to 10 inches. Over 24 hours, sections of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, received 4-6 inches, and parts of northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri received more than 10 inches of rain, the weather service reported.
Flooding forced more than 100 people to flee an apartment complex for shelter at a nearby high school, officials said. Portions of Interstate 64 just east of Louisville were closed in both directions due to standing water. Meanwhile, the storms left thousands of Kentuckians without power.
