Deadly tornado outbreak leaves at least 16 dead across Kentucky, Missouri

FOX Weather’s Katie Byrne is in St. Louis where a likely tornado struck and shattered a church. She has the latest from across the heartland. 

LONDON, Ky. – A tornado outbreak swept across the Ohio Valley Friday night, leaving more than a dozen dead and rescue crews frantically searching neighborhoods left in ruins for any other survivors.

So far, at least nine people have died in Kentucky and seven more have been killed in Missouri — five of them in the St. Louis area.

Some of the hardest hit towns from apparent large tornadoes Friday night in Kentucky were the Somerset area and London, where city officials reported significant damage.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office says the tornado touched down in London just before midnight and tore through two neighborhoods and the London Corbin Airport area, “causing mass casualties in its path.” So far, deputies say nine people have died in the county and “numerous severe injuries occurred to others.”

A tornado that swept through London, Kentucky Friday night left multiple people dead and a wide swath of significant damage.

Video from London shows extensive damage with multiple homes destroyed and vehicles barely recognizable as debris littered the neighborhood and lightning still flashed in the background.

“(My daughter) got scared, so we went to the hallway,” a woman named Leslie, who survived the storm with her family, told emergency officials in the video. “And we were in there about two minutes and then my husband came running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air sucking in, and it sounded like a train. And then we saw stuff falling, and next thing you knew, most of the house was gone.”

Tornadoes leave 5 dead around St. Louis

Footage shot on Friday afternoon shows powerful winds in St. Louis, Missouri, hurling brush and debris down Pershing Avenue.

The severe weather outbreak began earlier Friday in Missouri as supercell thunderstorms spawned deadly tornadoes.

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said at least five storm-related fatalities have been confirmed in her city. She implemented a city-wide curfew because over 5,000 homes were affected by the storms. 

In Scott County, located about 2 hours south of St. Louis, the sheriff reported at least two storm-related deaths and multiple injuries.

“Today, our county was struck by a devastating tornado in the southern region, causing significant damage to several rural areas,” Scott County Sheriff Derick Wheetley said. 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.” 

Much of the damage in the St. Louis area seems to have happened in the University City area. FOX News Multimedia Reporter Olivianna Calmes found damage in Clayton, just south of University City. She said she has seen several trees damaged, and some trees have fallen on cars in the area.

“The skies turned green,” Rachel, a resident of Clayton, told Calmes. “The winds started whipping. Then, it fell silent, and then you heard what sounded like a train, and everything started falling.

According to a Facebook post, the St. Louis Zoo sustained damage during the storm and will be closed through Saturday.

“All animals are safe and accounted for, and there have been no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals,” zoo staff wrote in the post.

Footage shot on Friday afternoon shows powerful winds in St. Louis, Missouri, hurling brush and debris down Pershing Avenue.

The NWS described the storm as a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” when it issued a Tornado Warning that affected more than a million people across the St. Louis metro area.

Tornadic thunderstorms also impacted southern Indiana and Illinois, where several counties south of Interstate 70 were placed under Tornado Warnings.

The mayor of Bloomington, Indiana, said police were in search and rescue mode on Friday evening, but it would likely be several hours before the all-clear would be given.

The SPC received more than half a dozen reports of tornado touchdowns in Indiana, but there were no reports of any fatalities connected to the severe weather.

Overall, more than 800,000 customers were reported without power across at least a dozen states, with outages likely to last days in hard-hit communities.

Severe weather remains a threat into next week

The hard-hit Ohio Valley will get a break from severe storms Saturday as the threat shifts into inland New England, where damaging wind gusts look to be the largest threat from any severe thunderstorms, the FOX Forecast Center said.

SEE IT: HUGE WALL OF DUST LOOMS OVER NEBRASKA FIELD

This graphic shows a severe weather threat starting on Sunday, May 18.

(FOX Weather)

Another threat of severe weather energizes in the Southern Plains on Saturday, kicking off another multiday threat across the region.

The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted the potential for severe weather in several areas of the country through early next week.

“This is a classic severe weather setup for the Central Plains,” Merwin said. “You have all of that moisture streaming in from the Gulf, the cooler, drier air off the Rockies, and then you get that classic clash zone.”