4 more die in United States storms, death toll reaches 22

Garland police spokesman Mike Hatfield said the deaths may have resulted from a traffic accident but police did not know whether all four people had been in the same vehicle.

Four people died in a storm-related incident in Texas near where a tornado touched down on Saturday, bringing the death toll from tornadoes and flooding this week in the southern United States to 22, according to officials and local media.

The Red Cross said it was setting up shelters for people whose homes were damaged by the storm.

The hardest hit area was by I-30, police said.

Green said she was unsure of whether any neighbors had been injured or killed down the block where several homes were destroyed.

At least two tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down south and east of Dallas beginning at around 7 p.m. E.T., according to the National Weather Service. That number is likely to change.

She later tweeted that search and rescue was being performed and requested that people avoid the area to stay out of the way of first responders.

The heavy rainfall prompted Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley to declare a state of emergency for counties in the state.

The storm closed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for about an hour. A statement from the governor’s office said that about 190 roads across Alabama were closed due to flooding.

The system comes after days of unseasonably warm weather fueled torrential rain and deadly storms in the southern USA this week, leaving at least 18 people in three states dead by Saturday.

Officials in Benton County, Mississippi, on Saturday found the bodies of a man and woman who were missing since being caught in a tornado on Wednesday, said Greg Flynn, spokesman for Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Even as severe weather continued to be reported, forecasters from the National Weather service were predicting an historic snowstorm would hit the Oklahoma panhandle on Sunday.

Between 6 to 15 inches of snow are in the forecast for the region, which includes Amarillo and Lubbock.

In addition to snow, icy conditions are expected from central Oklahoma up into Kansas with ice accumulation and strong winds, making the roads risky for driving.

The storms left homes had roofs blown away, vehicles mangled or turned upside down, churches damaged, power lines down, natural gas lines burst, trees toppled and debris strewn across neighborhoods. The start time at American Airlines Center was pushed back about 30 minutes to 8 p.m.as severe weather moved through downtown Dallas. The creek is not expected to fall below flood stage until early Monday. Blizzard warnings were also in effect for parts of northern and central New Mexico. The biggest town threatened by the rise in the Coosa is Gadsden in northeastern Alabama.