LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Residents in Kentucky and Missouri sifted through damage in tornado-stricken neighborhoods and cleared debris Sunday after severe storms swept through parts of the Midwest and South and killed more than two dozen people.
Kentucky was hardest hit as a devastating tornado damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles and left many homeless.
Jeff Wyatt’s home of 17 years was destroyed along with much of his neighborhood in London, Kentucky.
Chunks of wood had punched through several parts of the roof but the house avoided catastrophic damage.
The office in Jackson, Kentucky, which was responsible for the area around London, Kentucky, had a March 2025 vacancy rate of 25%; the Louisville, Kentucky, weather service staff was down 29%; and the St. Louis office was down 16%, according to calculations by weather service employees obtained by The Associated Press.
London, Kentucky. (AP) — Following severe storms that killed over two dozen people in parts of the Midwest and South, residents in Kentucky and Missouri looked through the damage in neighborhoods affected by tornadoes and cleared debris on Sunday.
A terrible tornado that destroyed hundreds of homes, flung cars around, and left many homeless struck Kentucky the hardest. The majority of the 19 fatalities occurred in southeast Laurel County. According to state officials, the death toll may still increase despite several more people suffering serious injuries.
The majority of Jeff Wyatt’s London, Kentucky, neighborhood was destroyed, along with his house of 17 years. As the family room and roof were torn away, Wyatt, his wife, and two of their kids barely managed to escape to safety in a hallway. The family visited the wreckage again on Sunday in order to gather pictures, infant blankets, and other mementos.
Wyatt, 54, remarked, “It happened so fast.”. The family room would have been gone if we had stayed an additional ten seconds. “.”.
According to authorities, a weather system that included the most recent storms in Kentucky killed two people in northern Virginia and seven people in Missouri on Friday. In addition, the system caused tornadoes in Wisconsin, scorching heat in Texas, and a brief dust cloud over portions of Illinois, including Chicago, on a day that was otherwise sunny.
As the National Weather Service warned of severe thunderstorms, golf-ball-sized hail, and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (97 kph) for portions of Missouri and Kansas, dangerous weather conditions could persist into Monday.
When the storm struck his brother’s house on Friday, Ryan VanNorstran huddled with his big dogs in a first-floor closet. The storm struck a neighborhood along Keavy Road, where a large portion of the damage in the nearly 8,000-person community was concentrated. VanNorstran was watching over the house.
The house shook, he claimed, as he entered the closet. Then a door from a different house smashed through a window. His car was wrecked, and the house’s windows all blew out. Several areas of the roof were punctured by pieces of wood, but the house was spared severe damage. “A lot of screaming” was heard when he went outside. “”.
“I suppose I kind of realized there was nothing I could do at the time. “I had never truly experienced such a strong force from nature alone,” he remarked. It’s either going to take me or it’s going to be okay,” I thought as I was locked in there. “”.
For Kentucky to apply for federal disaster assistance, survey teams were anticipated to arrive on the ground on Monday, according to Kentucky Gov. According to Andy Beshear.
On Sunday, he identified the 19th storm victim as an adult Russell County woman.
“I want tornado survivors to know we’re grateful they’re here — and we will help them with everything else,” he posted on X, highlighting fundraising initiatives to cover rebuilding and burial costs.
According to him, two dozen state roads had portions closed, and it might take days for them to reopen.
Approximately 1,200 tornadoes occur in the United States. S. . every year, and throughout the years, reports of them have come from all 50 states. In the traditional “Tornado Alley” of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, researchers discovered that fatal tornadoes were occurring less frequently in 2018. Instead, they were occurring more frequently in areas of the mid-South that were more densely populated and covered in trees.
In St.. Cara Spencer, the mayor of Louis, reported that over 5,000 homes were impacted, five people died, and 38 were hurt.
She stated at a press conference on Saturday that the destruction was “truly heartbreaking.”.
In Scott County, roughly 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis, destroying numerous homes, killing two people, and injuring numerous others, Sheriff Derick Wheetley posted on social media.
Following the Trump administration’s massive staffing cuts to National Weather Service offices, outside experts expressed concern about the impact on warnings for natural disasters like tornadoes.
In March 2025, the weather service staff in Louisville, Kentucky, was down 29%; the Jackson, Kentucky, office, which served the region surrounding London, Kentucky, had a 25% vacancy rate; and the St. The Associated Press obtained calculations from weather service employees that showed the Louis office was down 16 percent. According to staffing data, as of March, the meteorologist in charge of the Louisville office also lacked a permanent supervisor.
Any vacancy rate higher than 20%, according to experts, is a serious issue.
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