18 dead as tornadoes and storms hits four states in central United States overnight

Powerful tornadoes swept across the US state including mid-Mississippi, Ohio and Tennesse River valleys.

By Marita Pinto

Published on May 27, 2024 | 01:06 PM IST | 62.2K

Tornado in US leaves 18 dead

TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to mass death.

Overnight, suspected tornadoes hit the central United States, leaving at least 18 people dead in four states, including four children. Millions more are at risk of severe weather for the rest of Memorial Day weekend.

On Sunday, there was a risk of enormous hail, destructive winds, and strong twisters for almost 109 million people in various parts of the United States, primarily in the Tennessee, Ohio, and mid-Mississippi valleys. "Violent tornadoes, extreme hail, and corridors of widespread wind damage as the storms move east," the Storm Prediction Center warned.

Here's what National Weather Service said

The SPC also warned of many tornadoes and few intense likely and deemed the tornado watch " particularly dangerous. Parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee are under a stormy weather watch, which is expected to affect 4.7 million people. Around 4.7 million people are affected by the watch, which spans portions of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, including St. Louis and Jefferson City, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; and Carbondale, Illinois.

The National Weather Service states that only extremely high confidence in the likelihood of many tornadoes in the area that are at least EF2-strong and long-lived can lead to the issuance of this particular type of watch for tornadoes. When the supercell thunderstorms in the watch region form, they could produce destructive wind gusts of up to 75 mph in addition to enormous hailstones larger than baseballs.

Sheriff Ray Sappington of Cooke County, Texas, told CNN that at least seven individuals lost their lives as strong storms struck the area on Saturday night. The ages of the two victims were 2 and 5. According to officials, at least eight individuals died in Arkansas. In response to the extreme weather and areas of the state devastated by tornadoes, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a state of emergency declaration on Sunday afternoon.

ALSO READ: Memorial Day 2024: Date, History, Significance And Meaning Explored