28 dead, at least $9 billion in damages after deadly storms, tornadoes sweep across central, eastern US
Deadly severe weather outbreak in central US causes an estimated $9 billion to $11 billion in total damage and economic loss.
Severe weather on the evening of May 16 included several tornadoes, which caused immense damage to buildings and trees. Affected towns are in the process of recovering victims and assessing damage.
At least 28 people have died and dozens more were injured after a devastating wave of severe weather swept across the central United States late Friday into Saturday, leaving a trail of catastrophic destruction.
More than 70 tornadoes, destructive hail and powerful wind gusts caused damage across the middle of the country during the multiday severe weather outbreak that started Thursday, May 16. Additional impacts and damage are expected through late Tuesday night as the severe weather threat shifts east throughout the week.
Large tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana with hard-hit southeastern Kentucky reporting a majority of the fatalities. According to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, there were at least 19 confirmed deaths in the state connected to the severe weather, mostly in Laurel County.
Ali Reid is in London, Kentucky, where a deadly tornado has flattened homes and separated families.
Images emerging at first light on Saturday from the town of London, about 75 miles south of Lexington, show entire neighborhoods razed with homes reduced to piles of shredded wood and debris, downed power lines, cars tossed all over the place and furniture strewn everywhere.
London, Kentucky, at dawn on Saturday morning. (Image credit: Brandon Clement/Wx Chasing)
A man inspects damage from a tornado in London, Kentucky, on May 17. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
A couple search for belongings following a tornado in London, Kentucky, on May 17. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Laurel County resident Leslie Bott told reporters she sat in one of her family's destroyed cars with her daughter.
"She got scared so we went to the hallway, and we were in there maybe two minutes because it's the only closed-in area we have, and my husband and son come running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air and everything sucking, and it sounded like a train," Bott said. "We saw stuff falling, and next thing you knew, he said most of the house was gone."
Emergency crews were still searching the wreckage for survivors and assessing the full extent of the damage on Saturday morning.
“We lift up those lives who were tragically cut short by the fury of the tornado and those who have been injured,” Laurel County Sheriff John Root told local news, WVLT. “Strengthen the hands of rescuers and inspire compassion in the hearts of communities near and far to offer aid in support.”
More than 700,000 homes and businesses across 12 states lost power during the height of the outbreak, according to PowerOutage.us, with Missouri and Kentucky hit the hardest. As of Monday, most of the power had been restored.
7 killed in St. Louis area after an EF3 tornado tore through city
It was a wild start of the weekend for severe weather in Missouri on May 16. A deadly tornado that tore through the city of Benton downed trees and power lines and flung debris everywhere.
The same storm system triggered large, destructive tornadoes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Seven people were killed in the St Louis area earlier Friday evening after an EF3 tornado moved through the city.
More than 4,500 homes, businesses and other buildings and structures along the path of the powerful tornado were damaged or destroyed. There are reports of roof collapses, wall collapses and other catastrophic damage to buildings. Many vehicles were also damaged or destroyed by the powerful winds, downed trees and airborne debris. Trees that fell onto homes, businesses and power lines, as well as extended power outages, contributed to widespread damage and costly disruptions across the city.
“You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running,” 19-year-old University of Missouri-St. Louis student John Randle told the AP. “A lot of people were caught outside.”
Randle said he rode out the storm in the basement of the St. Louis Art Museum with his girlfriend and about 150 other people.
"The loss of life and destruction St. Louis has experienced in today’s storm is horrendous, and my thoughts are with everyone whose lives were altered today," St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said in a post on X. "Our first responders and community are stepping up in tremendous ways to save lives, help those who are injured, provide shelter, and so much more," she said. "Thank you. In the coming days, we will have a lot of opportunities to help and much work to do. But for tonight - Please stay home tonight and allow our first responders to do their work. And please keep St. Louis in your thoughts and prayers."
“Basically every window” in the city’s firehouse was “blown out” by the storm, St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson told CNN of the storm, which damaged around 20 square blocks of the city. About 500 first responders spent Friday night into Saturday searching buildings for survivors, Jenkerson said.
The multiday severe weather outbreak caused an estimated $9 billion to $11 billion in total damage and economic loss, according to a preliminary estimate from experts at AccuWeather.
AccuWeather's estimate includes damage to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays. The estimate also accounts for the costs of evacuations, relocations, emergency management and the extraordinary government expenses for cleanup operations and the long-term effects on business logistics, transportation and tourism as well as the long-term and short-term health effects and the medical and other expenses of unreported deaths and injuries.
AccuWeather expert meteorologists say 2025 is shaping up to be the worst year for tornadoes in the U.S. in more than a decade. There have been more than 820 preliminary reports of tornadoes so far this year, which is roughly 200 tornadoes more than the historical average for this time of year.
Severe weather will threaten the same areas again with destructive storms and tornadoes in the forecast across the central U.S. on Monday and Tuesday.
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