SUMRALL, Miss. -- Powerful thunderstorms raced across portions of the South early Wednesday morning, injuring at least eight people in Mississippi and killing one man in Louisiana.

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More injuries were reported in Arkansas, where the wind toppled at least five tractor-trailer rigs along Interstate 40 and damaged a hotel.

The man killed near Greensburg, La., was in a trailer covered by a wooden structure when the tornado hit shortly before dawn, said Maj. Michael Martin of the St. Helena Sheriff's Office. Martin said buildings were damaged and that power lines are down in a path about 2 miles wide and up to 4 miles long.

In Mississippi's Lamar County, emergency operations center director James Smith said a possible tornado struck a subdivision outside Sumrall at about 2:50 a.m.

A tornado warning was posted for southwest Mississippi, and a tornado watch extended into the Florida Panhandle, the National Weather Service said.

Thunderstorms also toppled at least five tractor-trailer rigs along Interstate 40 in Arkansas, and police said at least four people were hospitalized. Authorities said a hotel near Wheatley had structural damage.

The storms caused flash flooding in Arkansas, including the Little Rock area, where police said they rescued two people who escaped high water by climbing trees.

More than 3.5 inches of rain fell at Little Rock, including more than an inch in 20 minutes at the city's airport, the weather service said. Hail the diameter of quarters pounded areas west of the city.