Stephen Lance Dennee / The Paducah Sun via AP

The ravished buggy of an Amish family is seen in a field along Roscoe Creek, Feb. 25, 2011, near Dublin, Ky. Four children died late Thursday when the horse-drawn buggy carrying the family toppled in the rain-swollen creek. The family of nine was on the way home after making a phone call.

NBC, msnbc.com and news services
MAYFIELD, Ky. -- A woman and eight children were attempting to cross Roscoe Creek in a downpour in the dark Thursday when the accident happened. Officials say the family may not have realized the creek had risen. The woman and four children made it to safety, rescuers said.

The accident happened as severe storms pummeled the nation's midsection and southeast , leaving behind a trail of downed trees and splintered power lines. Torrential rains drenched parts of Kentucky and other states Thursday night.

“We were hoping and praying for this to have a different outcome. But the story has a very tragic end,” Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon told The Paducah Sun.

Mark Humphrey / AP

Tom Sullivan looks at storm damage to his home in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, Feb. 25. A tree fell on his home when storms went through the area Thursday night.

Mark Humphrey / AP

Tom Sullivan leaves his home with his granddaughter, Courtney Cunningham, and his cat, Max, on Friday after a tree fell on his house.

Mark Humphrey / AP

Jim Smith, left, and Cory Brown look through a gaping hole in the roof of Smith Springs Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday. Part of the roof was blown off during severe weather Thursday night.

Severe storms raced across a stretch of the nation's midsection, pummeling trees and splintering power lines.

Authorities say the storms may have whirled a tornado at eastern Arkansas on Thursday evening.

Winds between 60 and 70 mph toppled trees there, blocking roads and damaging homes across the state.

Heavy rain and winds from 60 to 80 mph blew through the Memphis, Tenn., area Thursday night, said National Weather Service meteorologist Corey Chaskelson.

He said several possible tornadoes were spotted in northwestern Tennessee and eastern Arkansas. Continue reading...