Deadly Storms Rip Through Kentucky and Missouri, Leaving at Least 23 Dead, Dozens Injured

The number of fatalities is expected to rise as search-and-rescue teams continue to comb through the debris and devastation.

Residents inspect their home after a tornado tore off the back wall of a house in St. Louis, Mo., on May 16, 2025. Lawrence Bryant/Reuters

Severe storms that swept across the Midwest and South on Friday killed at least 23 people and injured dozens more, with Kentucky and Missouri among the hardest hit, according to officials.

In Kentucky alone, at least 14 fatalities have been confirmed, according to a May 17 statement from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

“Sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” he wrote in a post on social media. “Please pray for all of our affected families.”

The powerful weather system that swept through Kentucky on Friday also left a trail of destruction across several states, killing seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, spawning tornadoes in Wisconsin, baking Texas in extreme heat, and covering parts of Illinois in a thick veil of dust.

Most of the Kentucky deaths were reported in Laurel County, where local officials said a tornado likely touched down around midnight near the London-Corbin Airport. The storm leveled homes, tossed vehicles, and left behind widespread destruction in the largely rural area.

Shannon Ross, a volunteer with the United Cajun Navy, described witnessing two tornadoes from her property in Adair County, including a “really big black one” and a smaller, thinner twister that struck nearby Russell Springs.

“It was traveling right over our house. ... It was like you could touch it,” Ross told The Epoch Times, comparing the experience to witnessing an airplane roaring above on final approach to landing.

Ross said the twin tornadoes tore through multiple communities along a roughly 150-mile stretch, including Somerset and London, leaving widespread devastation.

“London is destroyed. It looks like a bomb went off,” she said. “There’s a lot of missing people, or injured people, unaccounted for … It looks like Hurricane Michael when it hit Panama City, Florida, at a Category Five.”

Ross, who joined the Cajun Navy after losing her home in a 2016 Louisiana flood, is now leading a coordinated relief effort from her base in Columbia, Kentucky. Supplies are being staged at her property, with around a dozen rescue teams en route from as far as Baton Rouge, North Carolina, and Maryland. She said hundreds of volunteers are expected to cycle through the area in the coming days.

“We’re going to show up. We’re going to help put these little cities back up,” she said, adding that the teams are in for the long haul. “We don’t just come in the first day, drop off a bag of diapers and leave. … We’ll be rolling 18-wheelers into this area for several months.”

London Mayor Randall Weddle described the scene as “unlike anything I’ve witnessed,” telling WKYT-TV, “Lives have been changed forever here tonight. This is a time we come together, and we pray for this community.”

Beshear declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms and activated the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center, allowing for a faster deployment of resources. On Saturday morning, he said more than 100,000 residents remained without power, five counties had declared local emergencies, and search-and-rescue teams were still combing debris fields for survivors.

“This is another tough morning for Kentucky after a night of deadly weather,” he posted, adding that he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, FEMA officials, and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs about getting the support needed to recover and rebuild from the devastation.

Emergency crews worked through the night, but efforts were hampered by heavy traffic in affected areas. The London Police Department urged residents to stay off the roads, warning that emergency responders were having trouble getting to affected areas due to large numbers of bystanders on the road.

Missouri also faced deadly consequences Friday, with at least seven people killed, including five in St. Louis. Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed the deaths and said more than 5,000 homes had been damaged. A curfew was imposed in the hardest-hit neighborhoods as emergency crews worked to clear debris and restore services.

“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,” Spencer said in a statement on social media. “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.”

People survey damage after a severe storm moved through St. Louis, Mo., on May 16, 2025. Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

The National Weather Service said Friday’s storm system brought widespread thunderstorms to the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio Valleys, producing at least six tornadoes in Missouri, Illinois, and neighboring states. The severe weather reached as far east as New Jersey, where another tornado was confirmed.

By Saturday morning, power outages affected about 334,000 customers—primarily in Missouri, Kentucky, and Michigan—according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks electric blackouts across the country.

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center warned Saturday that the southern Plains—particularly north Texas—could see severe thunderstorms, large hail, and “a couple of tornadoes.”

Forecasters issued an Enhanced Risk advisory for parts of north Texas and southern Oklahoma, citing “extreme instability” and the likelihood of supercell storms capable of producing very large hail—up to 3.5 inches in diameter—damaging wind gusts, and isolated tornadoes. Additional severe storms were also expected across upstate New York and western New England.