ST. LOUIS - At least 32 people are dead in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia in the wake of storms and tornadoes that tore through the region as part of an extreme weather outbreak on Friday "leaving behind a trail of destruction," authorities said.

The toll includes at least 23 dead in Kentucky and seven in Missouri, authorities there said. The number of fatalities was expected to continue increasing, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

The Kentucky deaths were concentrated in Laurel County in the southeastern part of the state, where a tornado tore through the city of London. A Laurel County firefighter died while responding. Randall Weddle, mayor of the city of London, told the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that at least 23 people there died. Beshear confirmed at least 18 deaths: 17 in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County. The youngest victim is a 25-year-old Laurel County man.

Beshear said during a press conference that he expected the Kentucky death toll to "potentially rise."
“This was a devastatingly strong tornado that tore through a subdivision in the middle of the night and that is the worst type of natural disaster," he said.

The tornadoes came amid a severe weather outbreak with preliminary reports of tornadoes in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and even New Jersey.

The tornado that struck the south end of Laurel County leveled more than a dozen houses to their foundations in the Westland neighborhood and left the streets full of brick, wood and personal belongings, the Courier Journal reported.
"I’ve never felt the ground vibrate so hard,” said Keith Clark, whose family huddled in a closet during the storm. “It was really bad. Then hearing neighbors scream and you can’t get to them, it’s pretty scary.”

St. Louis tornado: Up to a mile wide, maximum winds 150 mph

The National Weather Service St. Louis released preliminary information on the Friday twister that killed five people in the city and injured at least 38.

The tornado was an EF3 with winds of 150 mph, according to a NWS social media post. Its path was at least eight miles long and up to a mile wide. It began in the city of Clayton at 2:41 p.m. Central.

Roads closed, homes damaged

Destruction to buildings and roadways has been widespread, officials said.

Eric Gibson, who heads Kentucky's Emergency Management department, said hundreds of homes have been damaged in the state.

Story Date: May 19, 2025