Several hundred thousand people are without electricity and at least 28 have died after large swathes of the Midwest were battered by severe conditions from a large weather system on Friday.
At least 21 of the deaths so far are in Kentucky, seventeen of which were in Laurel County, which was hit by a tornado. Scenes from the town of London, which lies within the county, are harrowing, showing entire neighborhoods leveled–houses, trees, and all. CBS reports that the tornado winds were strong enough to have flipped a car on the nearby I-75 highway. “I have never personally witnessed what I’ve witnessed here tonight,” London Mayor Randall Weddle said. “There’s a lot of devastation.” In a post on X confirming the deaths of at least 14 people in his state, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear warned that “sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information.”
Thankfully this Dorothy made it to the parking garage before the tornado carried her to oz. pic.twitter.com/FKt2XbLqu2
— Kat❤️ (@IrishKat00) May 17, 2025
A tornado also hit the St. Louis, Missouri area, touching down in Clayton, according to the National Weather Service. The city’s mayor, Cara Spencer, told reporters that five residents were killed and at least 5,000 homes have been affected. Photos of the destruction show a number of large trees totally uprooted and fallen over, with at least one of the victims in St. Louis dying from a tree falling onto his food truck. Another tornado hit Scott County, some 130 miles south of St. Louis, killing two people and wrecking a number of homes, according to local law enforcement. At least one other person was killed by a falling branch in Indiana, with authorities noting that “death may have been caused by a developing tornado.”
A powerful tornado tore through London, Kentucky, just south of Lexington, on Friday, April 16, leaving widespread devastation and a community reeling in its aftermath.#kywx pic.twitter.com/somXoxstq1
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) May 17, 2025
Despite the already ruinous path of the weather system, alert remains high as more storms and tornadoes continue to develop in Oklahoma. As of this writing, storm chasers in Garvin County are reporting sighting a tornado next to the Interstate 35 highway, which the twister then reportedly crossed.
