Residents dig out from tornado damage after storms kill 28 in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia

LONDON, Ky. — Residents in Kentucky and Missouri sifted through damage in tornado-stricken neighborhoods, still on edge Sunday for more severe weather ahead after storms that killed more than two dozen people as they swept through parts of the Midwest and South.

Kentucky was hardest hit as a devastating tornado damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles about and left many homeless. At least 19 people were killed, most of them in southeastern Laurel County.

Meteorologists predicted a fresh “multi-day” mix of dangerous weather conditions across the nation’s midsection, with heavy rains, thunderstorms and potential tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service confirmed a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado Sunday afternoon near Mingus, Texas, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth. Significant damage but no immediate casualties were reported in Palo Pinto County, which includes Mingus, a sheriff’s office dispatcher said.

Forecasters warned of hail the size of tennis balls in that area and damaging hail in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

‘It happened so fast’

Jeff Wyatt’s home of 17 years was destroyed along with much of his neighborhood in London, Ky. Wyatt, his wife and two of their children scarcely made it to safety in a hallway while the roof and family room were ripped away. On Sunday, the family returned to the wrecked home to collect photos, baby blankets and other keepsakes.

“It happened so fast,” said Wyatt, 54. “If we would have been there 10 seconds longer, we would have been gone with the family room.”

Survivors and their supporters picked through the debris in London on Sunday, wary about new forecasts. Severe storms were possible for Kentucky on Monday and even more so on Tuesday, the weather service said.

Zach Wilson, whose parents’ home was destroyed, said he was “terrified” another storm would ruin the remaining salvageable items scattered across their property — or devastate another community.

“If I had to tell anybody” how to respond, Wilson said, “it would be to listen to every word that the National Weather Service kicks out and take every warning seriously.”

The Kentucky storms emerged from a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri — including five in St. Louis — and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought punishing heat to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois — including Chicago — in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day.

Missouri, Kansas brace for more storms

The weather service said parts of Missouri and Kansas could see severe thunderstorms, golf-ball-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph into Monday.

Back in London, Ky., Ryan VanNorstran huddled with his brother’s large dogs in a first-floor closet as the storm hit his brother’s home Friday in a neighborhood along Keavy Road where much of the destruction was centered in the community of nearly 8,000 people. VanNorstran was house-sitting.

He said he felt the house shake as he got into a closet. Then, a door from another house crashed through a window. All the windows blew out of the house and his car was destroyed. Chunks of wood had punched through several parts of the roof, but the house avoided catastrophic damage. When he stepped outside, he heard screaming.

“I guess in the moment, I kind of realized there was nothing I could do. I’d never really felt that kind of power from just nature,” he said.

Assessing the damage

Damage assessments were underway Sunday as the state readied its request for federal disaster assistance, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

The governor announced a 19th storm victim, a woman from Russell County. Of 10 people hospitalized for weather-related injuries, three remained in critical condition.

“A lot of Kentuckians are hurting right now,” Beshear said on X, touting fundraising efforts to help with funerals and rebuilding. “If you’re able to help, please do.”

He said parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen.

About 1,200 tornadoes strike the U.S. annually, and they have been reported in all 50 states. Researchers found in 2018 that deadly tornadoes were occurring less frequently in the traditional “Tornado Alley” of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and more frequently in parts of the more densely populated and tree-filled mid-South.

Staffing cuts at National Weather Service

The storms hit after the Trump administration massively cut staffing at National Weather Service offices, with outside experts worrying about how it would affect warnings in disasters such as tornadoes.

The office in Jackson, Ky., which was responsible for the area around London, had a March vacancy rate of 25%; the Louisville weather service staff was down 29%; and the St. Louis office was down 16%, according to calculations by weather service employees obtained by the Associated Press. The Louisville office also was without a permanent boss — the meteorologist in charge — as of March, according to the staffing data.

Experts said any vacancy rate above 20% is a critical problem.

Lovan and Kaster write for the Associated Press.