The death toll from a series of thunderstorms and tornadoes that struck the mid-South climbed to 28 on Sunday — with more severe weather expected in the region.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said 19 people in the state had died from the storms, many in Laurel County in the southern part of the state. The storm system also killed seven people in Missouri and two in Virginia when it rolled through the region, authorities said.
“I guess in the moment, I kind of realized there was nothing I could do. I’d never really felt that kind of power from just nature,” said Ryan VanNorstran, who rode out the storm in London, Ky. “And so I was in there and I was just kind of thinking, it’s either gonna take me or it’s all gonna be all right.”
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Edwina Wilson, left, and family friend Melvin Brock sift through what is left of Wilson’s destroyed home on Sunday in London, Ky., after a severe storm passed through the area. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The center of the country was expected to experience more severe weather on Sunday, with golf ball-sized hail predicted for areas of Missouri and Kansas. Heavy rain, thunderstorms and potentially more tornadoes were expected in the mid-South and Great Plains on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Thunderstorms are also expected to once again produce areas of damaging winds and large hail on Monday throughout a large part of the central/southern Plains and Ozarks, with the threat of tornadoes also continuing in this region,” forecasters wrote.
Kentucky in particular has been battered by devastating storms several times in the past few years. In 2021, a tornado outbreak killed more than 80 people across western Kentucky; in 2022, floods in eastern Kentucky killed 45 people.
With News Wire Services
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