Deadly Weather Hits Central US for Holiday Weekend

Deadly weather hit the central US at the beginning of the holiday weekend, with at least six people reported dead across multiple states as of Friday morning. WFAA reports four fatalities due to heavy flooding in north Texas. One body was pulled from a submerged Hyundai after the driver apparently tried to drive across a flooded street, the Dallas Morning News reports. The other victims were also caught in the floods while in vehicles. Meanwhile, two people were killed in traffic accidents credited to freezing rain and high winds in Kansas on Thursday, according to the AP.

The AP reports the weather is only expected to get worse as the weekend goes on. Travelers are being warned to stay off the roads because of continued flooding in north Texas. An ice storm warning has been issued for Oklahoma through Saturday. And Arkansas is looking at potential flooding into Sunday. More than 4 inches of rain fell overnight in north Texas, bringing the yearly total at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to 55.23 inches—nearly 2 inches more than the previous record in 1991. A sheriff's deputy in Texas was swept away while trying to help a stranded motorist and found two hours later clinging to a tree, according to the Morning News. (More severe weather stories.)