At least three tornadoes struck Arkansas counties, killing one and injuring others, when a round of storms hit the state Friday and Saturday, meteorologists confirmed Sunday.

An EF1 tornado touched down just south of Redfield in Jefferson County about 6:30 p.m. Friday, but no one was injured, weather officials said. About 5 p.m. Saturday, an EF1 tornado struck Dermott and crossed the Chicot-Desha county line twice, causing “a couple of injuries” and damaging homes, said Joanne Culin, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Jackson, Miss.

In St. Francis County, an EF2 tornado a couple ofmiles west of Hughes killed an elderly woman and injured three others including a 3-year-old girl Saturday afternoon, county authorities said. The woman was not identified Sunday as authorities tried to reach her relatives. Hughes is less than 30 miles southwest of West Memphis, where Arkansas State Police responded to several car accidents on Interstate 40.

The storms developed after a cold front moved into Arkansas from the northwest Friday and met warm, moist air. The front stalled over the state, causing heavy rainfall and flooding in some areas.

Statewide, rainfall and heavy winds toppled trees and power lines, damaged homes and left state roads with “quite a bit of flooding,”said Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Tommy Jackson.

By Sunday evening, Calhoun County Judge Floyd Nutt described his county as a disaster area because the floods wore away some roads, Jackson said. In Hampton, the county seat, meteorologists recorded 5.2 inches of rain, according to the weather service.

As of 12:15 p.m. Sunday, rainfall totals were 1.5 inches in southeast Arkansas, between 4-6 inches in Little Rock and North Little Rock, 5.01 inches in Pine Bluff and about 7.71 inches in Trumann.

Officials of Marked Tree in Poinsett County closed off MB Lane off Arkansas 118 because of high waters.

Several county roads in Lonoke, Jackson and White counties were under water. White County authorities barricaded the westbound lane of Arkansas 36, which caved in at Georgetown.

According to a National Weather Service damage survey, many trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Redfield. The tornado touched down for two minutes and moved 1.5 miles, destroying sheds and damaging roofs, even tearing off a corner of one, the survey states.

In Chicot County, four tractor-trailers on U.S. 65 flipped over, and the highway was shut down. About 15 homes sustained minor damage, while five were heavily battered. Two people were injured, according to the weather service.

Forecasters didn’t have further information about the Dermott tornado Sunday.

The tornado in St. Francis County began about 3:20 p.m. Saturday and touched down for about nine minutes, said Zach Maye, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Memphis. It started approximately 6 miles southwest of Hughes and traveled 15.6 miles before letting up about 1 mile northwest of Tarsus, he said.

It destroyed three mobile homes, a house and a farm shop, St. Francis County sheriff’s deputy Jason Bradshaw said. A number of irrigation pivots overturned, and several power lines were downed along the tornado’s path.

The elderly woman who died late Saturday was in the same mobile home as the three others who suffered injuries, Bradshaw said, adding that she had head injuries.

An elderly man was taken to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis after he was thrown nearly a quarter-mile from the home into a field, Bradshaw said. The man was in serious condition Sunday morning after suffering mainly head injuries, Bradshaw said.

A 25-year-old woman also was taken to the Regional Medical Center but released Sunday morning, he said.

An ambulance transported the woman’s 3-year-old daughter to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis after she suffered a broken arm, leg injuries and scrapes, he said.

Bradshaw said a woman and her four children werein a separate home when the tornado ripped off the roof. No one was injured.

Minutes later, tractor-trailers on I-40 turned over just west of West Memphis in Crittenden County.

That 300-yard-wide tornado had peak winds of 130 mph, according to the weather service.

The high winds left several without power throughout the weekend.

Garland and Hot Spring counties had more power failures during the first part of the storm, while Columbia and Union counties had more during the second half, Entergy spokesman Julie Munsell said. At its peak, the company had 13,120 customers without power about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, she said.

Almost 500 Entergy homes and businesses were without power about 5 p.m. Sunday, but power was expected to be restored by the end of Sunday night, Munsell said.

Other utilities statewide reported a handful of power failures.

The storms should be the worst of any immediate weather, meteorologists say. Forecasters predict a cold, dry week with low temperatures in the 20s and highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 12/23/2013