Powerful storms and tornadoes over the weekend killed at least 18 people and left more than 500,000 customers without power early Monday across nine states from Arkansas to West Virginia.
Nearly 200,000 power outages were reported in Kentucky as of 6 a.m., according to tracking website poweroutage.us. More than 50,000 customers each were without power in Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced he had declared a state of emergency early Monday.
Thunderstorms continued overnight, leading to a tornado watch in effect until 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday for parts of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Severe thunderstorms with gusty winds and hail are expected in the area during the pre-dawn hours, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.
More heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected later on Memorial Day as the storm moves from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, the weather service said in its forecast.
The tornado is the latest to strike the region in the past few days, after a powerful tornado struck Iowa last week, killing five people and destroying parts of a city.
Severe thunderstorms shook Howell County, Missouri, on Sunday, producing baseball-sized hail and tornadoes that downed trees and damaged homes near the town of Mountain View, said Kelsey Angle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield.
Forecasters said the storm that formed in Missouri was expected to strengthen overnight as it moved east, bringing strong winds to Kentucky and Tennessee.
“Kentucky and Tennessee are really going to be the targets of some destructive winds,” said Bill Bunting, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. He said tornadoes and hail measuring more than 3 inches in diameter are possible.
Governor Beshear said there were reports of downed power lines and tornado and wind damage across Kentucky. As of Sunday afternoon, one death had been confirmed statewide, but no injuries had been reported.
“We've at least gotten through the first phase of this,” Beshear said from the command center, “and we want to make sure we don't lose any more people.”