Tornadoes tear through Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Tennessee

Five people are being treated in a Covington, Tennessee, hospital after a tornado touched down in the city, a hospital official said.

The Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton was not damaged by the storm and its staff are still able to receive and treat patients, Kimberly Alexander, director of media relations for Baptist Memorial Health Care, said.

The tornado has rendered the city "impassable," the Covington Police Department said on Facebook Friday night, sharing photos of roads blocked by downed power poles and large trees toppled in front of homes.

Police asked residents to stay off the roads due to hazards and so emergency crews can pass through to critical areas.

At least two people have died in hard-hit Wynne, Arkansas, as a result of tornadoes that have torn through the area, St. Francis County Coroner Miles Kimble confirmed to CNN.

That's in addition to an earlier report of one person dead in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Kimble is assisting the coroner's office in Wynne, which is located in Cross County.

CNN has reached out to the Cross County coroner’s office.

Footage from Wynne shows significant damage, with roofs ripped off of homes and a local school and trees uprooted and tossed across roadways. The town was "cut in half by damage from east to west," Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN.

At least one person is dead in North Little Rock, Arkansas, after a tornado hit the area on Friday, Madeline Roberts, a Pulaski County spokesperson, confirmed to CNN.

There are at least 50 hospitalizations due to the tornado in Pulaski County as well, but they “expect more,” Roberts said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post gave an incorrect title for Madeline Roberts.

Severe storms have downed power lines and trees and caused significant damage to homes and businesses in the Springfield suburb of Sherman, Illinois, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell told CNN.

“We've got several businesses that have been basically destroyed,” Campbell said.

Among those businesses is a daycare with a collapsed roof, Campbell said. No one was in the building at the time of the storm. 

So far, the only confirmed storm-related injury was the result of a traffic accident, the sheriff said. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies are still surveying rural areas of the county late Friday to find out the extent of the damage, Campbell said.

A tornado watch is in effect for east-central Illinois, central Indiana and western Kentucky until 2 a.m. CDT, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Cities that could be impacted include Indianapolis, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Storms developing in the area could result in intense tornadoes, golf-ball-sized hail and strong wind gusts of up to 80 mph, according to the storm center.

At least 24 people have been hospitalized in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a result of severe weather in the area, according to Mayor Frank Scott Jr.

No fatalities have been reported in the area as of 7 p.m. Friday evening, the mayor said.

“Property damage is extensive and we are still responding,” Scott said in a tweet.

Two confirmed tornados touched down in Arkansas Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. 

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has activated the Arkansas National Guard following severe weather.

Sanders noted “widespread damage” in Wynne and has been in touch with local officials in the area.

“Praying for the safety of all Arkansans who are in the path of these storms,” Sanders said on Twitter.

Sanders declared a state of emergency in Arkansas earlier Friday due to severe storms and at least two confirmed tornado touchdowns.