A devastating tornado outbreak tore through Kentucky and five other states on Friday night, killing dozens of people and leaving people trapped in factories and warehouses. More than 30 tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, and Mississippi. The main tornado that struck Kentucky traveled more than 227 miles, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said. “We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians and probably end up 70 to 100,” he said at a news conference. “It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families.” The governor noted that “this is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we have seen in a long time.”
Communities across the Midwest and the southern United States were rushing to assess the damage on Saturday morning after the powerful storms struck overnight amid fears that dozens of people could be dead. There are “confirmed fatalities” in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois that saw its roof collapse and rescue workers were still trying to sort through the rubble on Saturday morning.
Some of the worst destruction appears to have taken place in Kentucky, particularly in the small city of Mayfield. About 110 people were in a candle factory in the city when the tornado hit and tore out the roof. “We could feel the wind … then we did a little rock,” Kyanna Parsons-Perez, who was inside the factor, told NBC. “And then boom everything came down on us.” Across the affected states tens of thousands of people were without power Saturday morning, including 132,000 homes in Tennessee and 56,000 in Kentucky.
In Arkansas, at least one person was killed when a tornado struck a nursing home in the city of Monette and trapped 20 people inside. Nearby, a woman was killed in a Dollar General store. In Tennessee, at least three people were killed, two in Lake County and one in Obion County.
Kentucky was devastated overnight Saturday as four tornadoes, including a massive storm that flattened much of Mayfield and several other towns, ripped through the commonwealth.
The system, which reportedly spawned at least one tornado in other parts of the South and Midwest, was forecast to bring a threat of damage to the area through the early hours of the morning. And it brought damage to much of the western portion of the state, as well as causing power outages throughout Kentucky.
Here are the latest updates:
National coverage:Tornado rips through Arkansas nursing home, killing two; Amazon warehouse roof collapses amid storm in Illinois
10 a.m.: Coroners’ mass fatality team heads to Western Kentucky
The Kentucky Coroners Association is assembling its mass fatality team in the state’s western side, where deadly tornadoes left a path of destruction through more than a dozen counties.
Jimmy Pollard – the coroner for Henry County and spokesman for the statewide association – told The Courier Journal a group of 15 coroners and deputy coroners have set up a staging area in Madisonville, a city of 18,317 in Hopkins County that was in the path of the deadliest tornado to touch down in the state.
More:A massive tornado ripped through Kentucky for more than 200 miles. Here’s its path.
Madisonville is 90 miles northeast of Mayfield, the town that appears to have been hit the hardest in the state, including a candle factory where Gov. Andy Beshear said “at least dozens” may have died when the roof collapsed.
At his 5 a.m. briefing on the damage, Beshear estimated that 70 to 100 Kentuckians may have died in the tornadoes.
The state’s mass fatality team is made up of roughly 150 coroners and deputy coroners from around Kentucky, designed to deploy quickly to deadly disasters too large for local officials to handle and provide resources like PPE, body bags or refrigerated trailers.
Pollard said the team will do whatever the local coroner wants them to do, whether it be recovery or transport, though he thought it would be mostly recovery.Your stories live here.Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it.Create Account
9 a.m.: Beshear plans multiple updates on damage across state
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is planning to hold multiple press conferences in Western Kentucky on Saturday in the aftermath of the devastating overnight tornadoes.
Beshear is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. in Graves County — the home of Mayfield, which suffered massive losses — and will speak again at noon in Hopkins County, where his father was born. (Both starting times are listed in Central time.)
Beshear first spoke in a press conference at 5 a.m., where he said the death toll would pass 50 and would likely land between 70 and 100. He later joined NBC’s Today show, describing “a real tough morning in Kentucky” and noting it had been difficult so far to assess the damage because it happened in the overnight hours.
“Morning will show us a lot more,” Beshear said. “At least one of our towns (is) totally devastated. But we’re strong, we’re resilient. We will grieve, but we will rebuild
7 a.m.: Tens of thousands without power
Around 56,000 people were without power in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s massive tornado event, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
The hardest-hit areas were in Western Kentucky, where a tornado that traveled more than 200 miles is believed to have caused upwards of 50 deaths. Outage numbers from some counties were unavailable as of 7 a.m., but Beshear’s presentation cited Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties as among the hardest hit.
Louisville was spared the devastation of the tornado but was still impacted by strong winds and storms through the night. Just over 22,000 people in the Louisville area were without power as of about 7 a.m., according to LG&E.
5 a.m.: Beshear: Death toll could reach 70-100
In an address at 5 a.m. Saturday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the death toll from the overnight tornado would likely reach at least 50, and could climb even higher.
“Remember, each of these lives are children of God, irreplaceable to their families and their communities,” he said. “We will make it through this. We will rebuild. We are strong, resilient people.”
Beshear’s estimates were preliminary, he noted. State officials likely wouldn’t be able to assess the damage until daybreak.
It’s likely to go down as “the most significant tornado event in Kentucky’s history,” though, he said. Four likely tornadoes hit multiple counties across the state, with one single storm ripping through southwestern Tennessee and the western half of the Bluegrass State.
The death toll from the overnight tornado could surpass that of the infamous 1974 tornado that hit Louisville, according to Michael Dossett, director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
National Guard members have been deployed to help those who have been impacted, Beshear said, along with officials with the state’s Transportation Cabinet, Division of Forestry and Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Services.
Significant damage is believed to have occurred in several counties, Beshear said. Graves County and Mayfield may have been hit the hardest – social media posts published soon after the storm showed substantial damage in that town’s downtown area – and Beshear cited other locations such as Fulton, Hickman, Marshall, Lyon Caldwell, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Breckenridge, Bullitt, Spencer, Shelby, Christian, Logan, Warren, Edmonson, Taylor, and Marion counties that have likely been affected.
“It’ll be daybreak before we even realize the full magnitude of this event,” Dossett said.
2:30 a.m.: Power outages in Louisville
Almost 900 customers were without power in Jefferson County just after 2 a.m., LG&E’s outage map showed.
Statewide, LG&E was reporting more than 20,000 customers without power, including many in western parts of the state.
1 a.m.: ‘Loss of life expected” in western Kentucky, KSP reports
“Loss of life is expected” in western Kentucky amid reports of extensive storm damage, Kentucky State Police said in social media post just before 1 a.m. Saturday.
“Significant damage” from “a severe tornado event that spreads across multiple counties” has been reported by KSP’s post in Mayfield, the post said.
In a video posted to social media, Gov. Andy Beshear said state officials expect “multiple fatalities” in connection with the weather.
12:30 a.m.: Beshear declares state of emergency
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency just after midnight, according to a social media post from his official account, “based on major tornado damage in multiple Western Kentucky counties.”
Kentucky State Police and Kentucky National Guard units have also been activated in response to the storm, the post said.
Background:Will severe thunderstorms in Kentucky bring tornadoes? What to know
The governor and emergency management officials will provide an update at 5 a.m. Saturday.
“We are praying for our Western Kentucky families,” the post concluded.
11 p.m.: Storm damage reported in Mayfield, Kentucky
Comments from officials and local media reports indicated the town of Mayfield, Kentucky, and nearby areas suffered damage from a reported tornado late Friday.
The impacts include, according to reporters in western Kentucky, damage to the Graves County Courthouse
Graves County and Mayfield “have been hit really hard,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a video posted to social media.
“This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage we’ve seen in a long time,” he said.
9 p.m.: Kentuckiana under tornado watch
Much of Kentuckiana, including Jefferson County, was set to be under a tornado watch from Friday evening until at least 3 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
A tornado watch means conditions indicate tornadoes are possible.d5%3A1638479056965&width=550px
Tornado warnings, which indicate a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar, were issued in other parts of Kentucky late Friday and early Saturday.
Localized flooding was also possible, National Weather Service meteorologists said earlier Friday.
Amazon facility hit by tornado
EDWARDSVILLE — Public safety authorities said there are “confirmed fatalities” at a partially collapsed Amazon facility at 3077 Gateway Commerce Center, which was damaged at 8:33 p.m. Friday as a wave of violent weather, including tornadoes, rolled through the St. Louis metropolitan area and elsewhere in the Midwest and South.
Police Chief Mike Fillback at a press conference early Saturday said there was “more than one fatality… at least two.”
He said authorities are still working to confirm how many people were at the facility when it was damaged. He said he believed the number was about 50.
Next of kin are being notified. Search and rescue operations are continuing and heavy equipment operators are assisting. Rescue crews are still sorting through the rubble to determine if anyone was trapped inside.
“It’s still an active scene,” he said.
A wall about the length of a football field collapsed at the Amazon facility, as did the roof above it. The warehouse located in the Gateway Commerce Center is about five years old.
Fillback said about 30 people who were in the building were taken by bus to the police station in nearby Pontoon Beach for evaluation.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the damage was caused by straight-line storms or a tornado, but the National Weather Service office near St. Louis reported “radar-confirmed tornadoes” in the Edwardsville area at around the time of the collapse.
On Saturday morning, cranes were seen pulling sections of ceiling and wall away from the collapsed portion. Tow trucks also were removed damaged vehicles. Some cars had been crushed.
An employee who works at yet another nearby Amazon warehouse, across the highway, said the section of the building that collapsed appeared to be a parking garage.
The storm also caused extensive damage in the Defiance area of St. Charles County, leveling at least one home and killing one person. Mark Borgmann told the Post-Dispatch his 84-year-old parents, Vernon and Ollie Borgmann, were transported to an area hospital; his mother died there. Borgmann, who described his mother as a “sweet, warm” person, said his parents had lived in the home since the 1950s.
Damage elsewhere
The broad storm system Friday night also caused significant damage at a candle factory in Kentucky, a nursing home in Arkansas, and numerous homes and buildings.
Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, said Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Two of the deaths occurred in Lake County, and the third was in Obion County — both in the northwestern corner of the state.
A tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas on Friday night, killing one person and trapping 20 people inside as the building collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press.
Five people had serious injuries, and a few others had minor ones, he said. The nursing home has 86 beds.
Day said another nursing home about 20 miles away in Truman was badly damaged but no injuries were reported. The residents were being evacuated because the building is unsafe.
Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, said Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Two of the deaths occurred in Lake County, and the third was in Obion County — both in the northwestern corner of the state.
In Kentucky, several buildings collapsed during the severe weather that struck Mayfield, said Sarah Burgess, a trooper with the Kentucky State Police.
She said several people were trapped inside a damaged candle factory and that a shift was ongoing when the storm hit.
“The entire building is essentially leveled,” she said.
Gov. Andy Beshear said about 110 people were in the Mayfield factory when the tornado hit.
“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians and probably end up 70 to 100,” he said at a news conference Saturday. “It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families.”
Kyana Parsons-Perez, a factory employee, was trapped under five feet of debris for at least two hours until rescuers managed to free her.
In an interview with TODAY, she said it was “absolutely the most terrifying” event she had ever experienced. “I did not think I was going to make it at all.”
Just before the tornado struck, the building’s lights flickered. She felt a gust of wind, her ears started “popping” and then, “Boom. Everything came down on us.” People started screaming, and she heard Hispanic workers praying in Spanish.
Among those who helped rescue the trapped workers were inmates from the nearby Graves County Jail, she said.
“They could have used that moment to try to run away or anything, but they did not. They were there, helping us,” she said.
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Farther east in Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University said on Twitter that emergency crews were assessing significant storm damage and that no injuries were immediately reported. However, the school called off commencement ceremonies that were planned for Saturday because the campus was without power.
“It’s obvious we had major wind damage,” said Ronnie Ward, a Bowling Green police spokesman, in a telephone interview.
Rescue efforts in Bowling Green and elsewhere were hampered by debris strewn across roads. Ward said numerous apartment complexes in Bowling Green had major structural damage, and some factories had collapsed during the storms.
“Right now we’re focusing on the citizens, trying to get to everybody that needs us,” Ward said.
Includes reporting by Post-Dispatch reporters and The Associated Press.
Updated at 9:58 a.m.
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Our earlier story, posted Friday night:
An Amazon warehouse partially collapsed near Pontoon Beach in Madison County, trapping employees inside, as suspected tornadoes and strong storms blew through the St. Louis region throughout the evening. There was widespread damage from the storms in multiple counties, including homes and other buildings destroyed, wires down and thousands of people without power.
Police and fire agencies from throughout the region responded to the area of the massive warehouse, which is situated outside of Edwardsville near Interstates 255 and 270 in a large commercial development. Multiple injuries were possible, and there were reports of perhaps 100 or more people trapped inside, although those numbers were not confirmed.
Farther east in Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University said on Twitter that emergency crews were assessing significant storm damage and that no injuries were immediately reported. However, the school called off commencement ceremonies that were planned for Saturday because the campus was without power.
“It’s obvious we had major wind damage,” said Ronnie Ward, a Bowling Green police spokesman, in a telephone interview.
Rescue efforts in Bowling Green and elsewhere were hampered by debris strewn across roads. Ward said numerous apartment complexes in Bowling Green had major structural damage, and some factories had collapsed during the storms.
“Right now we’re focusing on the citizens, trying to get to everybody that needs us,” Ward said.
Includes reporting by Post-Dispatch reporters and The Associated Press.
Updated at 9:58 a.m.
Our earlier story, posted Friday night:
An Amazon warehouse partially collapsed near Pontoon Beach in Madison County, trapping employees inside, as suspected tornadoes and strong storms blew through the St. Louis region throughout the evening. There was widespread damage from the storms in multiple counties, including homes and other buildings destroyed, wires down and thousands of people without power.
Police and fire agencies from throughout the region responded to the area of the massive warehouse, which is situated outside of Edwardsville near Interstates 255 and 270 in a large commercial development. Multiple injuries were possible, and there were reports of perhaps 100 or more people trapped inside, although those numbers were not confirmed.
What was believed to be a large tornado had been reported in the Edwardsville area just after 8 p.m. The National Weather Service in St. Louis issued several reports of “radar-confirmed” tornadoes in the region. The weather service will begin conducting assessments within the next few days to determine the nature and intensity of the storms.
The Illinois Department of Transportation’s local office was reporting significant damage in the area of Interstate 270 and Illinois Route 111, where the Amazon fulfillment center was located and urged drivers to avoid the area. There were long traffic backups on side roads leading up to the facility, and the Chain of Rocks Road just east of Interstate 255 was closed about midnight due to the emergency response, IDOT officials announced.
Amazon, which opened the facility several years ago, released a statement late Friday night, saying that “the safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now. We’re assessing the situation and will share additional information when available.”Two decades of tornadoes in St. LouisTornadoes 2001 – June
| month | tornadoes |
| Jan | 10 |
| Feb | 34 |
| Mar | 69 |
| Apr | 71 |
| May | 110 |
| Jun | 60 |
| Jul | 19 |
| Aug | 7 |
| Sep | 20 |
| Oct | 28 |
| Nov | 11 |
| Dec | 26 |
About 10:30 p.m., Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted that his “prayers are with the people of Edwardsville,” and offered to provide any needed state resources.
The storm damage wasn’t isolated to the Metro East. There were also reports of a house destroyed in Defiance, Missouri, and homes flattened in St. Charles County. Along Stub Road and Highway F, at least three people had been rescued from a debris field, New Melle fire officials said. One person had serious injuries, they said.
Farther down Highway F, a barn collapsed, trapping several horses inside. Firefighters from multiple agencies were frantically digging through the wreckage late Friday night.
Ameren was reporting thousands of people without power in the region around midnight. In Madison County, more than 11,600 customers were without power. That county accounted for about half of the nearly 22,000 total outages in Illinois.
More than 11,000 customers were without power in Missouri close to midnight. About 2,500 of those customers were in St. Charles County, and more than 1,600 were out in St. Louis County.
A tornado watch, meaning conditions are right for twisters to form, took effect Friday afternoon and remained in place through about 11 p.m. for a wide swath of counties, including the immediate St. Louis area. The watch covered dozens of counties throughout the region, even stretching into Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and multiple other states.
The watch was later upgraded to a warning — meaning a tornado had been spotted or indicated on the radar — as the storm system steadily marched into the region, starting with outlying counties in Missouri and heading across the St. Louis region. The storms quickly moved northeast and gained in intensity with Metro East counties in their path.
By 11:30 p.m., the National Weather Service in St. Louis tweeted out the all-clear for tornado warnings in the St. Louis metro area, although it said that the storm system was still strong as it headed through regions to the north and south of St. Louis.
Matt Beitscher, a meteorologist with the St. Louis office, had warned early in the day that residents should stay alert for whatever the weather brought Friday night.
“A lot of folks like to turn off their alerts when they sleep,” Beitscher said, but it’s not a good idea when unsettled weather takes place in the evening and overnight hours.
It doesn’t help that many people let their guard down to severe weather outbreaks in late fall and as winter approaches. “While it’s uncommon, it’s not unheard of to have severe weather in December,” Beitscher said.
In late October, at least five tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Illinois south of St. Louis, including two large twisters with peak wind speeds of about 150 mph.
Some homes and businesses were destroyed, trees were downed and power was knocked out in and around Fredericktown and St. Mary in Missouri and also in Chester, Illinois.
The weather has been particularly topsy-turvy this week, with snow flurries sighted in some parts of the region on Tuesday, and then a steady rise in temperatures over the past several days. The forecast for the weekend calls for slightly cooler temperatures, followed by another warmup next week.