At least 21 people were killed when severe weather, including possible tornadoes, swept through parts of Missouri and Kentucky from Friday into Saturday morning, authorities said.
Fourteen were killed in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said on X Saturday morning. “Sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” he added. The state’s National Guard was activated in response to Friday’s storms.
Laurel County, Kentucky, Sheriff John Root reported “numerous severe injuries.” He said a tornado touched down late Friday night and that the search for survivors continued.
In Missouri, five were killed in St. Louis County and two others in Scott County, according to officials. At least 38 people were reported injured in the city of St. Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer said in a news briefing Saturday morning. That number is expected to increase, officials said.
Spencer also said severe weather has affected around 5,000 buildings in the city.
“Our inspectors are out there making sure that we are, first and foremost, assessing the damage to be condemning buildings, and moving through demolition and other security as we go through this,” Spencer said at the briefing.
Spencer described the devastation seen around the city as “tremendous.”
“I would describe this as one of the worst storms, absolutely,” she said. “The devastation is truly heartbreaking, and let’s not forget, people have lost their lives.”
A spokesperson for St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital said the facilities received over 60 patients in total, with the children’s facility treating 15 and Barnes-Jewish seeing around 50 to 60, who were injured as a result of severe weather. Three of the children’s hospital patients have been admitted, with two in critical condition, while all others have been discharged.
Some of those at Barnes-Jewish were admitted but most have been discharged or will be discharged soon, the spokesperson said.
Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said severe weather hit about 20 square blocks of the city.
St. Louis police spokesperson Mitch McCoy said search-and-rescue operations were carried out with the help of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and surrounding county first responders.
“It’s all hands on deck to rescue as many people as we can and save lives,” he told NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis Friday.
The station reported that a man was rescued from the rubble of a home after an hourslong operation. The residence was most likely smashed by a tornado or potent winds Friday, the station said.
“Considering the building collapsed on him, he’s doing great,” a fire official said after the man was pulled out.
The man had sought shelter in the home and ended up stuck inside, possibly in a pantry, KSDK said.
Coverage from the region included imagery of a decimated Harlem Tap Room, a historic bar on the city’s north side that has been at the same location for roughly 80 years.
A witness who was in the bar told KSDK that a fellow patron’s warning and the establishment’s flickering lights led him and others to move to the rear of the building, which he said likely saved lives.
The energy utility Spire, which serves 1.7 million customers in the region, said there is “severe damage” to homes. Video of the damage showed toppled brick walls and downed tree limbs and power lines in the region.
The nearby city of Clayton said its city hall is closed as it coordinates a response to the severe weather.
In Scott County, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a social media post that two people died in a “devastating tornado” there.
“The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she spoke to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Kentucky’s Beshear “to offer federal resources and action for the deadly tornadoes and storms” impacting their states. She said she also left a message for Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
“DHS stands ready to help when a state needs, requests, and declares an emergency,” Noem said in a statement.
On Saturday, Kentucky had more than 99,000 customers in the dark, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, with a further 84,000 across Missouri.
The vortexes were products of a fast-moving low-pressure system headed east-northeast from its location over parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, a region under tornado watch until 10 p.m.
The cool, winter-like storm is clashing with a heat wave to the southwest, producing unstable air and eruptions of thunderstorm activity.
Lightning was seen illuminating the night sky above central Kentucky on Friday in a video circulating on X. It was announced on Saturday that the Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park in southern Kentucky will be closed “for the coming days” after it sustained a direct hit from a tornado Friday night, per the park’s spokespeople, who shared pictures of downed trees.
A shelter was opened in Laurel County, Kentucky, on Saturday for those who had been impacted by severe weather and needed a place to stay.
A Beyoncé concert at Chicago’s open-air Soldier Field on Thursday was delayed because of the weather. Spectator video showed a ferocious downpour ahead of the show.
Storms on Friday produced more than 600 preliminary severe weather reports, including 26 potential tornadoes, across five states including Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana, according to NBC News forecasters. Crews with the National Weather Service’s St. Louis field office found at least EF-3 tornado damage, with winds ranging from 136 to 165 mph, in the Fountain Park and Kingsway East neighborhoods of the city. Surveying efforts are still ongoing. One EF-0 (65 to 85 mph wind gusts) tornado was confirmed near Folsom, New Jersey.
On Saturday, 20 million across the southern Plains and New England are at risk of severe weather, with the strongest storms expected to affect parts of Texas and Oklahoma, where an enhanced risk is forecast, according to the National Weather Service. Dallas, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Little Rock, Arkansas, are included in the risk area, where damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes are possible.
There is also a chance of severe weather over parts of the Northeast on Saturday afternoon, including New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Storms in this area will be capable of producing 65 mph wind gusts, quarter-sized hail and a tornado.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 8 p.m. ET for parts of the Northeast, including Syracuse, New York, and Burlington, Vermont. Storms in this region will be capable of producing 1.5-inch hail, 65 mph winds and a tornado or two.
Sunday’s severe risk will stay over the Plains, affecting 20 million from Nebraska to Texas. Wichita and Topeka, Kansas; Dallas; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Missouri; and Omaha, Nebraska, will be in the risk zone, with storms capable of damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes.
This active pattern will continue into Monday, with 26 million at risk across the Plains and the Midwest, including in Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Tulsa, Dallas and St. Louis. This risk will continue to push east as the system shifts, with Tuesday’s risk affecting 26 million in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys. Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio, are highlighted for impacts on Tuesday.
This multiday threat will also bring heavy rain, especially over parts of the central Plains. Localized flash flooding cannot be ruled out through the next three days, as 4 inches or more of rain will be possible over parts of Missouri and Arkansas.
