Deadly Tornadoes in Central US Claim 18 Lives, Threaten Millions

Deadly Tornadoes in Central US Claim 18 Lives, Threaten Millions//X@TXstormChaser

Dil Bar Irshad | May 27, 2024 | 12:43 PM IST | Floods/Landslides/Event, United States of America, World | Follow on Google News

Deadly Tornadoes in Central US Claim 18 Lives, Threaten Millions

Deadly Tornadoes in Central US Claim 18 Lives, Threaten Millions

Key Highlights:

1. Tornadoes in the central U.S. claimed 18 lives, including four children.
2. Severe weather threats impact nearly 109 million people.
3. Over 642,000 people are without power across 13 states.

Deadly tornadoes tore through the central United States, claiming 18 lives, including four children, while millions more face continued severe weather threats, reported CNN. Nearly 109 million people across broad swaths of the U.S. were under threat of large hail, damaging winds, and fierce twisters on Sunday, primarily throughout the mid-Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee River valleys. The Storm Prediction Center warned of “violent tornadoes, extreme hail, and corridors of widespread wind damage” as the storms moved east.

The watch covered parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, impacting 4.7 million people, including areas such as St. Louis and Jefferson City, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; and Carbondale, Illinois. On Sunday, at least 11 tornado reports were recorded, with more severe weather expected on Memorial Day. Over 120 million people are at risk of severe weather on Monday, concentrated over the East Coast, south of New England, where there is a level 2 out of 5 threat.

The storms that swept through Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky on Sunday continue to move east, posing ongoing threats. The projected storms through Monday are capable of producing severe tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds, as reported by CNN. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people across 13 states are without power due to the deadly storms and tornadoes that hit late Sunday night. Currently, more than 642,000 people are without power, according to poweroutage.us, with Kentucky experiencing nearly 135,000 customers without power.

The National Weather Service issued a special kind of tornado watch, indicating unusually high confidence in the potential for multiple EF2-strength and long-lived tornadoes in the area. “Intense supercell thunderstorms will continue to develop across the watch area through this evening. Several tornadoes are likely, some of which are expected to be intense. Very large hail is also likely, along with the risk for potentially significant damaging wind gusts,” the Storm Prediction Center stated. They warned of several possible tornadoes, with hail larger than baseballs and widespread wind gusts up to 85 mph likely, CNN reported.

(Inputs from CNN)

Dil Bar Irshad

Dil Bar Irshad is a seasoned journalist, hails from Jammu Kashmir's Doda, covers political, social, business stories, index stories.