More storms take aim at central US, where many are digging out from tornado damage

By MATTHEW BROWN and CAROLYN KASTER LONDON Ky AP More severe storms were expected to roll across the central U S this week following the weather-related deaths of more than two dozen people and a devastating Kentucky tornado The National Weather Facility disclosed a multitude of hazardous weather would impact the U S over the next several days from thunderstorms and potentially baseball-sized hail on the Plains to heavy mountain snow in the West and dangerous heat in the South Areas at liability of thunderstorms include communities in Kentucky and Missouri that were hit by Friday s tornadoes In London Kentucky people whose houses were destroyed scrambled Sunday to put tarps over salvageable items or haul them away for safe storage explained Zach Wilson His parents house was in ruins their belongings scattered We re trying the hardest to get anything that looks of value and getting it protected especially pictures and papers and things like that he stated Here s the latest on the modern storms various tornado history and where to look out for the next weather impacts An American Flag is posted near destroyed homes Sunday May in London Ky after a severe storm passed through the area AP Photo Carolyn Kaster Family friend Melvin Brock right finds a photo as he sifts through what is left of Wilson s destroyed home Sunday May in London Ky after a severe storm passed through the area AP Photo Carolyn Kaster A destroyed home is seen from above Sunday May in London Ky after a severe storm passed through the area AP Photo Carolyn Kaster Hailee Allen holds a family picture saved from Lynn and Don White s home Saturday May in London Ky AP Photo Carolyn Kaster Show Caption of An American Flag is posted near destroyed homes Sunday May in London Ky after a severe storm passed through the area AP Photo Carolyn Kaster Expand Deadly storms claim dozens of lives At least people were killed and seriously injured in Kentucky where a tornado on Friday damaged hundreds of homes and tossed vehicles in southeastern Laurel County fficials disclosed the death toll could rise and that three people remained in critical condition Sunday Wilson noted he raced to his parents home in London Kentucky after the storm It was dark and still raining but every lightning flash it was lighting up your nightmares Everything was gone he mentioned The thankful thing was me and my brother got here and got them out of where they had barricaded themselves Survey teams were expected on the ground Monday so the state can apply for federal accident assistance Gov Andy Beshear explained Specific of the two dozen state roads that had closures could take days to reopen In St Louis five people died and were injured as the storm system swept through on Friday according to Mayor Cara Spencer More than homes in the city were affected she explained On Sunday city inspectors were going through damaged areas to condemn unsafe structures Spencer reported She appealed for people not to sightsee in damaged areas A tornado that started in the St Louis suburb of Clayton traveled at least miles kilometers had -mph -kph winds and had a maximum width of mile kilometers according to the weather organization It touched down in the area of Forest Park home to the St Louis Zoo and the site of the World s Fair and the Olympic Games that same year In Scott County about miles kilometers south of St Louis a tornado killed two people injured several others and destroyed multiple homes Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media The weather system spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois including Chicago in a pall of dust Two people were killed in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D C by falling trees while driving The storms hit after the Trump administration cut staffing of weather utility offices with outside experts worrying about how it would affect warnings in disasters such as tornadoes A history of tornadoes The majority of the world s tornadoes occur in the U S which has about annually Researchers in ascertained that deadly tornadoes were happening 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 South They can happen any time of day or night but certain times of the year bring peak tornado season That s from May into early June for the southern Plains and earlier in the spring on the Gulf Coast The deadliest tornado in Kentucky s history was hundreds of yards wide when it tore through downtown Louisville s business district in March collapsing multistory buildings including one with people inside Seventy-six people were killed The last tornado to cause mass fatalities in Kentucky was a December twister that lasted almost five hours It traveled particular miles kilometers leaving a path of destruction that included dead and more than injured according to the weather operation Administrators recorded at least tornadoes during that storm which killed at least people statewide On the same day a deadly tornado struck the St Louis area killing six people at an Amazon facility in nearby Illinois More storms threaten in coming days Thunderstorms with potentially damaging winds were forecast for a region stretching from northeast Colorado to central Texas And tornadoes will again be a threat particularly from central Kansas to Oklahoma according to the weather institution Meanwhile triple-digit temperatures were forecast for parts of south Texas with the feasible to break daily records The hot dry air also sets the stage for critical wildfire conditions through early this week in southern New Mexico and West Texas Up to a foot of snow was expected in parts of Idaho and western Montana Brown disclosed from Billings Montana