Weather News
By Renee Straker, Jan Wesner Childs and Nicole Bonaccorso
2 days ago
At a Glance
- More than two dozen deaths are being connected to the Memorial Day weather.
- Severe storms and tornadoes caused widespread damage.
- 80 people were injured at a truck stop along Interstate 35 in Valley View, Texas.
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More than two dozen deaths across several states are being connected to severe storms and tornadoes that swept through over the Memorial Day weekend.
The storms ripped apart homes, flipped semis and left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.
Weather-related deaths were reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia, according to The Associated Press.
Here's a state-by-state breakdown:
Kentucky
Multiple tornadoes were reported across Western Kentucky Sunday night into early Monday morning.
In a news conference Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said one tornado was on the ground for 40 miles.
As of Tuesday morning, Beshear had announced the deaths of five people, according to The Associated Press.
At least two deaths were blamed on falling trees, including a man who was killed Sunday in Louisville when a tree fell on him. About 50 miles to the southeast, emergency management officials in Mercer County confirmed a person died early Monday morning when a tree fell on a home.
Beshear said a tree fell on a young girl riding a bike, but she survived.
He added that 14 counties and 5 cities declared a state of emergency. Some of the hardest-hit areas included Charleston and Dawson Springs where large trees were toppled and homes were torn to the ground.
More than 70,000 homes and businesses remained without power Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Texas
At least seven people died in Cooke County, Texas, about 50 miles north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.
Among those killed were two children, ages 2 and 5. Texas Governor Greg Abbott told reporters the children were from the same family.
"It's very tragic," Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Weather Channel.
A tornado there tore apart houses and businesses, flipped mobile homes and knocked down trees and power lines. Areas near the community of Valley View were especially hard hit.
Sappington said 60 to 80 people were injured at a truck stop called the AP Travel Center on Interstate 35. Many had rushed there to take shelter.
Semitrailers were overturned further to the south in neighboring Denton County, closer to Dallas. Multiple people were taken to hospitals, some by helicopter, but the full extent of injuries wasn't immediately known.
During a news conference Sunday evening, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed at least 100 people were injured, and at least 320 homes and other structures were damaged across four counties.
Gov. Abbott said he expected that number to increase as more damage assessments were completed. He signed disaster declarations for four more counties - Denton, Collin, Cooke and Montague - bringing it to a total of 106 counties on the list.
During that news conference, the National Weather Service also announced a preliminary EF2 rating for the tornado that hit Valley View.
Arkansas
There was heavy damage in northwest Arkansas, where a tornado toppled huge trees onto homes.
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A survey team from the National Weather Service has given that tornado in Boone County a preliminary EF3 rating.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee said Sunday night eight people died from the weekend storms. An emergency official said two of the deaths were not directly caused by active weather. One person suffered a heart attack and another was deprived of oxygen due to a loss of electricity.
Also among the dead is a 26-year-old woman found outside a destroyed home in Olvey in Boone County, Daniel Bolen, with the county’s Office of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press. Six individuals in Boone County were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Another death occurred in Benton County. Melody Kwok, a county communications director, told the AP that multiple other people were injured.
Two others died in Marion County
More than 38,000 homes and businesses were still without power across the state Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Oklahoma
At least two people died in Oklahoma. Michael Dunham, deputy director with Mayes County Emergency Management, confirmed the deaths to weather.com Sunday morning.
Widespread damage was reported in Claremore, where 23 people were injured. Nineteen of those victims were transported to local hospitals, three with life-threatening injuries. The city was closed to traffic until noon Sunday, except for residents with identification.
Severe damage was reported in Saline as well as other areas of the northeast corner of the state.
Missouri
At least two deaths are being linked to the weather in New Madrid County, on the Tennessee state line in the southeast corner of Missouri.
New Madrid County Coroner George DeLisle told The Weather Channel that a man was killed Sunday by a falling tree. A woman's death in a house fire Monday is connected to power outages after the storm, DeLisle said.
Alabama
The Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency reported a woman died after a tree fell onto her house during storms on Monday morning. The county includes portions of the city of Birmingham.
Indianapolis 500 Delayed
The Indianapolis 500 was delayed and about 125,000 fans were evacuated from Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a strong storm bore down on the area. The storm brought wind gusts up to 45 mph as well as heavy rain, the Associated Press reported.
The race resumed after a lengthy delay and the green flag dropped just before 5 p.m. EDT Sunday.
May Is Living Up To Its Reputation
The storms are the latest round of severe weather to rip apart homes and lives across the Plains, Midwest and South this month, which is typically peak time for tornadoes in the U.S.
Friday, tornadoes were reported in Illinois and North Dakota. There were also dozens of reports of hail and high winds, including gusts between 60 mph and 70 mph in eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Arkansas.
At least six homes were damaged Thursday night by a large tornado in Jackson County, Oklahoma, in the southwest corner of the state on the Texas border.
Five people were killed by storms in Iowa Tuesday.
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Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
