By Jose Serrano (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: May 11, 2015 07:00 PM EDT
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A line of tornadoes battered Great Plains and Deep South regions Sunday night, killing at least five while leaving dozens injured.

A couple in the small Arkansas town of Nashville died shielding their infant daughter from the storm. The 18-month-old girl survived her mobile home's destruction and was later released to relatives. "It's a miracle that little girl survived," said Howard County Coroner John Gray.

Two more people were killed in neighboring Van, Texas when a tornado damaged an estimated 30 percent of the city. Two of six patients sent to ETMC-Tyler are in critical condition while the other four were released after getting treatment for various cuts and scrapes. Eight people are still unaccounted for as of late Monday morning.

The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-3 tornado brought 135-145 mile per hour winds to the 2,600-resident Texan city. Van, located an hour east of Dallas, must now sift through "completely destroyed homes" and "damaged homes" according to Chuck Allen, emergency management coordinator for Van Zandt County.

County officials said it has been decades since such a forceful wind, citing an F-5 tornado that hit the area in 1943. Flash flood warnings were issued in the region due to heavy rains.

Authorities in Denton County, about 40 miles northwest of Dallas, reported two groups of people - including four adults and one infant- had to be airlifted to safety after rising floodwaters left them stranded on rooftops. There were no reports of injuries of fatalities.

Thunderstorm threats shift to the Central states this week, moving eastward from the Lower Michigan Peninsula to states as far south as Mississippi. Widespread severe weather is not expected throughout the Northeast, but some areas can expect tornadoes and scattered strong storms.

"The area to highlight for the strongest storms will be from Illinois southwest into far northeastern Texas," said Becky Elliott, AccuWeather.com meteorologist. "The tornado threat looks to be greatly diminished from the last few days, with damaging winds, hail and flash flooding existing as the main threats. However, with as potent as this storm system has been, an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

Hail and damaging winds will stretch from southeastern Texas to the Lower Mississippi Valley and from eastern North Carolina to southeast Virginia on Tuesday, according to The Weather Channel . Severe thunderstorms mirroring those that brought tornadoes to the Great Plains area last weekend may return by Friday.

Tornado watches issued around the country Monday will be in effect until 8 p.m. EDT.

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