Tornado outbreak kills 19 in Southern US, with more severe weather expected
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by Balikbayan Store
1 min reading time
Tornado-spawning thunderstorms that swept through the US Southern Plains and Ozarks have claimed the lives of at least 19 people as of Monday morning, affecting four states and destroying hundreds of buildings. Forecasters have warned that more severe weather is on the horizon.
The death toll from the severe weather over the Memorial Day weekend includes eight fatalities in Arkansas, seven in Texas, two in Kentucky, and two in Oklahoma, according to emergency authorities in these states.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency early on Monday, while the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Georgia and South Carolina until at least Monday afternoon.
The two deaths in Kentucky occurred due to trees falling on homes in Mercer County and Louisville. Governor Beshear remarked, "It was a tough night for our people," in a post on social media platform X.
In north Texas, a powerful tornado struck near the Oklahoma border on Saturday night, resulting in the deaths of at least seven people, including two children aged 2 and 5 from a single family. Nearly 100 people were injured in this incident, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders reported at least eight deaths in her state due to the storms. Among the victims was a resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who died after the power went out, depriving them of oxygen.
Power outages affected hundreds of thousands of Americans on Monday, with Kentucky experiencing over 180,000 outages, according to the PowerOutage.US tracking website.
The Weather Service warned of additional storms moving through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, bringing damaging winds, large hail, more tornadoes, and heavy downpours capable of triggering flash floods.
This latest bout of extreme weather follows closely after a powerful tornado tore through a rural Iowa town, killing four people, and additional twisters touched down in Texas last week.
As the US deals with these severe weather events, government forecasters are also preparing for what could be an "extraordinary" 2024 Atlantic hurricane season beginning on June 1.
