A violent, tornado-spawning storm system tore across the central US, leaving at least 25 people dead in Missouri and southeastern Kentucky as it cut a path of destruction through several states.
The 18 deaths in Kentucky come on the heels of fatalities reported hours earlier on Friday in the St. Louis area, which endured widespread destruction. Seven people were reported dead in Missouri.
In all, large tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
The storms damaged homes and downed power lines across the Midwest and Great Lakes, brought by the same system that produced destructive storms and tornadoes Thursday.
About 459,000 homes and businesses across a dozen states were without power as of Saturday, with Missouri, Kentucky and Michigan among the hardest hit, according to Poweroutage.us.
It’s part of a multiday spate of widespread severe weather stretching into early next week. As the system that generated deadly tornadoes in Missouri and Kentucky loses strength, another round of severe storms is expected near the border with Mexico, thrusting more than 20 million Americans across the Southwest in the risk zone.
The National Weather Service reported a radar-confirmed, “large, extremely dangerous” tornado sweeping east across lower Kentucky shortly after midnight.
Video and photos from southeastern Kentucky show a trail of destruction that began in Pulaski County before moving east into neighboring Laurel County, leaving at least 18 dead and 10 in critical condition across the state. Videos showed widespread damage to buildings, cars, trees and infrastructure in the wake of the possible tornado.
“I’ve now been governor for at least 14 federally declared disasters, 13 of them weather. And this is one of the worst,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Saturday evening. “It’s one of the worst in terms of the loss of human life. It’s one of the worst in terms of damage.”
Beshear has declared a state of emergency in the state and requested a federal disaster declaration.
Mahala Watts told CNN affiliate WLKY her family was watching the news after 11 p.m. Friday when their phones started blaring with tornado warnings. She grabbed the dog, and her family took cover in the bathroom in the center of their home in Laurel County.
The storm suddenly roared over her house – as the family was “breathing in all the debris.” They got on their hands and knees, Watts told the station. A bathroom mirror fell on Watts before the roar went silent.
“We were just kind of praying, you know, scared it was going to come back,” she said. “We had no idea the roof was gone. The fridge was blocking the bathroom door.”
Watts told WLKY her family climbed over the refrigerator and stood outside in the dark, fearing another hit. Cars were overturned and debris was strewn about. They used a relative’s car to get to a hospital where they sought refuge before making it to a hotel after the storm passed.
Drone video over London, Kentucky, at daylight Saturday showed a vast wasteland of damaged and overturned vehicles and flattened homes as first responders searched heaps of rubble for possible survivors. London is about 75 miles south of Lexington.
At the London-Corbin Airport, several planes were damaged and a medical helicopter was destroyed, CNN affiliate WLKY reported, adding officials said at least one airplane was pulled into a funnel cloud. Hangers and other buildings were leveled.
In another video from Laurel County, first responders are seen descending on the Sunshine Hills area, a barren landscape of twisted cars, downed trees and piles of debris.
Seventeen deaths were reported in Laurel County, including in London, Mayor Randall Weddle told CNN affiliate WKYT. Among those who died was Maj. Leslie Roger Leatherman of the Laurel County Fire Department, who had been responding to the storm, the governor said Saturday.
“I have never personally witnessed what I’ve witnessed here tonight. There’s a lot of devastation,” Weddle told WKYT.
Police in Corbin, south of London, were responding to mutual aid calls for tornado victims and described the devastation as overwhelming.
“Stop and pray for Laurel County residents and victims of the tornado that touched down there,” the department wrote.
Pulaski County Judge Executive Marshall Todd declared a state of emergency, and crews are working on cleanup efforts, county spokesperson John Alexander told CNN. One person was reported dead in the county.
Heavy damage can be seen in Somerset, a city in Pulaski County to the west of London, where emergency officials urged residents to stay indoors.
“The southern side of the city has been hit by a possible tornado!” the Somerset Fire Department posted on social media around 11 p.m. Friday. “Please avoid the area, poles and power lines are down!”
A storm that produced a devastating tornado in the St. Louis area Friday afternoon has left five people dead and many others injured, according to local authorities. The EF3 tornado traveled at least 8 miles, according to an initial survey conducted by the National Weather Service.
“We’re just a city that’s really grieving,” the city’s new mayor, Cara Spencer, told reporters Saturday. About 5,000 buildings have been impacted by the severe weather but she noted, “This community is coming together in a truly, truly amazing way.”
Spencer called the event “one of the worst storms” in the city’s history. A curfew will remain in place overnight and thousands of homes and businesses still have no power. Nearly 40 people were injured, the mayor said. A state of emergency was declared in the city, and officials are seeking a federal major disaster declaration.
More than 130 miles to the south of St. Louis, in Scott County, two others were killed during Friday’s storms, Sheriff Derick Wheetley announced on social media. Several others were taken to medical facilities, “with injuries ranging from minor to severe,” the sheriff added.
“The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable,” the sheriff said.
The devastation occurred after a tornado warning was issued at 2:34 p.m. Friday and a “likely tornado” touched down seven to eight minutes later, said Ben Herzog, a science and operations officer with the National Weather Service.
One St. Louis resident, Cindy Spellman, told CNN her niece was in her apartment when the storm hit.
“When the sirens sounded, she went to the basement of her building,” Spellman said.
When her niece returned to her apartment, “she had to push her way inside because the tornado had thrown all of her furniture to the far walls.”
They helped clean up after the storm passed and had to park over a mile away due to road closures, Spellman said. Dirt, glass and debris from trees and nearby homes coated everything inside the apartment and building. It took more than four hours to secure her niece’s apartment, clean it and remove her necessary belongings before dark.
Another resident, Joan Miller Hitt, was in her home Friday when it was torn apart like a dollhouse.
When a large tree outside started swaying violently and all the doors shut like in the movie “Carrie,” Miller Hitt and her husband took shelter in a bathroom. Seconds later, “the whole back of the house was gone.”
Miller Hitt said she never saw it coming.
“I never had any fear of anything happening to that house with a storm because of where I live and the sound structure of the house,” she told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield Saturday afternoon. “I go between being overwhelmed, shocked, teary.”
Gov. Mike Kehoe said he has already been in contact with federal officials about disaster relief. The American Red Cross opened three shelters in St. Louis for storm and tornado victims, the nonprofit announced Saturday.
First responders looking for victims or people in distress searched about 4,000 residences. More technical searches with boom microphones and cameras were being conducted Saturday.
One victim was identified as Patricia Pendleton, who had been serving lunches before the storm caused a roof to collapse at Centennial Christian Church, her family told CNN affiliate KMOV.
Sarah Russell, commissioner of the City Emergency Management Agency in St. Louis, said some of the tornado sirens did not go off Friday, which will be investigated.
“We’re looking into that,” she told reporters Saturday. The focus now is on life-saving measures in the community, she added.
The citywide system of tornado sirens was being replaced and had undergone testing on Thursday. Residents were encouraged to rely on multiple warning systems, including mobile apps and weather radio, she said.
The National Weather Service is surveying the damage and has no information on the intensity but estimated winds reached 100 mph.
Herzog’s message for residents: “I think the biggest thing would be staying away if you don’t need to be around.”
As the system that hit Missouri and Kentucky weakens and pushes across the Southeast, another round of severe storms threatens the Great Plains and Texas.
The level 3 of 5 threat of severe storms will affect the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex Saturday evening, with large hail, damaging winds and the potential for tornadoes.
The possibility of more severe weather stretches through Tuesday in the Great Plains and the lower Mississippi River Valley.
The Plains will remain the main focus of severe weather on Sunday and Monday as well, with damaging storms possible in much of Oklahoma and Kansas. The severe thunderstorm threat will then shift back into parts of the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday.
