Tornadoes hit Mississippi, Arkansas

Severe storms, including a few tornadoes, moved through the Mississippi Valley and the South, injuring at eight people and destroying buildings, officials said. At least four tornadoes touched down Wednesday across Arkansas and Mississippi while strong winds and hail were reported from Illinois to Mississippi, AccuWeather.com reported Thursday. One tornado moved across Sharkey County, Miss., destroying numerous mobile homes and injuring five people near Louise, which law enforcement officials said sustained "heavy" damage. Officials said tornadoes also hit Clarendon and West Jericho, Ark., and Shelby, Miss. In Scott County, Miss., officials said one person was injured when a tree fell onto a mobile home. Strong thunderstorm winds damaged about a dozen buildings in Bland, Mo., including the post office, where two people sustained minor injuries, officials said. AccuWeather.com said nearly 100 reports of severe weather and instances of damage from the weather were recorded by early Thursday. Eighty of the reports concerned wind damage, which ranged from downed trees and power lines to partially collapsed structures. A few storms produced 1-inch-diameter hailstones in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.