A tornado killed five people, destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes around the city of Pontotoc, Mississippi. Violent storms swept through the region, authorities said Sunday. Dozens were injured. A 2-year old boy was killed by a tornado in Arkansas.

The severe weather struck the region late Saturday nut the full extent of damage in rural northern Mississippi was not known until daylight Sunday.

The twister cut a 23-mile path across Pontotoc County, the National Weather Service said. The vast storm system that swept across the eastern half of the nation also dumped more that 20 inches of snow on northern Minnesota. Blowing snow closed hundreds of miles of highways in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Heavy rain caused flooding in Missouri and Kansas. Five people were dead on arrival at Pontotoc Hospital following the Saturday night storms. Sheriff Leo Mask said two deaths previously attributed to the storms were not storm-related.

In Arkansas, a 2-year old boy died Sunday of injuries suffered when a twister destroyed the family’s home in Fulton County on Saturday.

In Pontotoc, Johnny Seale held his wife close as their home was ripped apart around them. They survived but his 36-year-old son, a sister and a nephew were killed in houses only yards away.

On the colder side of the storm, about 260 miles of Interstate 90 was closed overnight until Sunday afternoon from Chamberlain, S.D., east to Blue Earth, Minn. Northeastern Minnesota collected more than 20 inches of snow, including 23.5 at Finland.

Peninsula Daily News, February 25, 2001 – Section C