Storms leave more than two dozen dead, with damage still being assessed
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A man sits in a chair after a severe storm moved through St. Louis Friday. Photo: AP/ Jeff Roberson
Powerful storms with tornado reports in the Midwest and other regions have led to at least 18 deaths in Kentucky, seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia.
The big picture: The storms were part of a weather system Friday that moved across multiple U.S. regions, including the Great Lakes area, and triggered power outages and property damage.
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in an X post Saturday morning after declaring a state of emergency that 100,476 were without power and the number of deaths "will likely grow."
- He reported later in the day that happened, the death toll up to 18. The number of power outages were down to 66,609 as of Saturday afternoon.
Zoom out: There were five deaths in St. Louis, with property damage to more than 5,000 homes, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed during a news conference on Friday.
- The National Weather Service St. Louis said "a tornado likely occurred" across parts of St. Louis Friday afternoon.
- "The tornado likely continued much further into IL and survey teams will continue to assess over the coming days," the NWS St. Louis said on Saturday, describing a tornado "up to 1 mile wide, EF3 (150mph) intensity" and following a path "at least 8 miles so far..."
Two people died in Scott County, which is about 135 miles south of St. Louis.
- "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," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post Friday.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional deaths and power outage details.
