Article

Monday, May 19, 2025
search-icon

More storms take aim at central US

publish time

19/05/2025

publish time

19/05/2025

KYCK124
A billboard and Speedway gas station are damaged on May 18, along Highway 27 in Somerset, Ky., after a severe storm passed through the area. (AP)

LONDON, Ky, May 19, (AP): More severe storms were expected to roll across the central US this week following the weather-related deaths of more than two dozen people and a devastating Kentucky tornado. The National Weather Service said a "multitude of hazardous weather” would impact the US over the next several days - from thunderstorms and potentially baseball-sized hail on the Plains, to heavy mountain snow in the West and dangerous heat in the South.

Areas at risk of thunderstorms include communities in Kentucky and Missouri that were hit by Friday’s tornadoes. In London, Kentucky, people whose houses were destroyed scrambled Sunday to put tarps over salvageable items or haul them away for safe storage, said Zach Wilson. His parents' house was in ruins, their belongings scattered.

"We're trying the hardest to get anything that looks of value and getting it protected, especially pictures and papers and things like that,” he said. Here's the latest on the recent storms, some tornado history and where to look out for the next weather impacts. At least 19 people were killed and 10 seriously injured in Kentucky, where a tornado on Friday damaged hundreds of homes and tossed vehicles in southeastern Laurel County.

0fficials said the death toll could rise and that three people remained in critical condition Sunday. Wilson said he raced to his parents' home in London, Kentucky, after the storm. "It was dark and still raining but every lightning flash, it was lighting up your nightmares: Everything was gone,” he said. "The thankful thing was me and my brother got here and got them out of where they had barricaded themselves.”

Survey teams were expected on the ground Monday so the state can apply for federal disaster assistance, Gov. Andy Beshear said. Some of the two dozen state roads that had closures could take days to reopen. In St. Louis, five people died and 38 were injured as the storm system swept through on Friday, according to Mayor Cara Spencer. More than 5,000 homes in the city were affected, she said. On Sunday, city inspectors were going through damaged areas to condemn unsafe structures, Spencer said. She asked for people not to sightsee in damaged areas.