LONDON, Kentucky (Reuters) - Calm weather gave dazed residents of storm-wracked U.S. towns a respite on Sunday as they dug out from a chain of tornadoes that cut a swath of destruction from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico, killing at least 39 people. Forecasters said more trouble was headed for the hardest hit areas of Indiana and Kentucky on Sunday night, where a winter weather advisory was in effect. Up to three inches of snow overnight was expected to add to the misery for hundreds of residents whose homes were destroyed. "Unfortunately it does look like they have some snow coming their way," said Jennifer Zeltwanger, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. The fast-moving tornadoes that hit on Friday, numbering at least 30, came on top of severe weather earlier in the week in the Midwest and brought the overall death toll from the unseasonably early and violent storms to at least 52 people. Adding to the despair, a toddler who had become a symbol of hope amid destruction after she was found alive in an Indiana field died of her injuries, state police said. Angel, who was reported to be 14 months old, had been in critical condition in a Kentucky hospital since Friday, when she was found after a tornado hit her family's mobile home in New Pekin, Indiana. "Angel has been reunited with her parents," the girl's extended family said in a statement released through the hospital. We want to thank God for all of you and for your thoughts and prayers. God will bring you and all of us out of this. Angel's family of five were the only people killed in Washington County, one of the hardest hit areas of the state. The violent storms raised fears that 2012 would be another bad year for tornadoes after 550 deaths in the United States were blamed on twisters last year, the deadliest year in nearly a century, according to the National Weather Service. In hard hit areas, National Guard troops manned checkpoints on roads and outside towns, and were inspecting identity documents of those seeking to enter damaged areas in Indiana and Kentucky following reports of looting. Long lines of cars waited at the entrances to some towns. As recently as Sunday afternoon, police stopped a vehicle on a back road that was trying to leave a home with a load full of stolen copper, said Albert Hale, emergency manager for Kentucky's Laurel County. Authorities have also caught people stealing scrap metal and trailers full of animals, and security personnel in Kentucky's Menifee County spent Saturday collecting weapons from destroyed homes to secure them from possible looters, a sheriff's official said. "I've been through enough disasters to know that people see these situations as an opportunity to come take what they want," said Richard Franklin, chief deputy of the Menifee County sheriff's office. He said looters came from as far away as Ohio. Indiana's hard-hit Clark County, where a powerful EF-4 tornado hit the town of Henryville, imposed a nighttime curfew, and Kentucky's Governor Steve Beshear urged spectators and unsolicited volunteers to stay out of the way so emergency responders could do their jobs. Beshear told reporters on Sunday the storm had caused at least $5.8 million in property damage. About 400 National Guard troops have been dispatched around the state to maintain order. In Indiana, state police said their focus had turned from search and rescue to securing the area and clearing the way for volunteers, who may be allowed in on Monday. President Barack Obama has called the governors of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky to offer condolences and assure them the federal government was ready to help if needed. Meanwhile, clean-up crews worked to move downed power lines and clear debris, and residents began putting tarps over torn apart homes to prevent further damage. The more fortunate brought donations including diapers, blankets and food to area churches. Residents in the affluent Kentucky town of London, in a county near the Tennessee border that reported five deaths, were eager to get back to some degree of normal life. Willa Reynolds greeted dozens of attendees at the front entrance of Grace Fellowship Church, many wiping snow flakes from their clothes as they walked in. Additonal reporting by Karen Brooks, Mary Slosson, Cary Stemle and Barbara Goldberg; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Peter Bohan