The National Weather Service in Paducah has confirmed that at least nine tornadoes touched down across the western Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri region Friday afternoon and evening.

The Jackson, Kentucky, office is one of at least four such facilities across the country that is so short-staffed that it is no longer routinely operating 24/7.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down on Friday night. A tornado outbreak spanned across Kentucky with nine tornadoes, one touching down in Allegre and tracking six miles.

This number could increase as the National Weather Service surveys areas impacted by the severe storms that hit the state Friday.

An EF-0 tornado touched down in Washington County on Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed. The NWS went out to survey storm damage in the East Finley area on Monday. The agency had issued a tornado warning for parts of Washington and Greene counties shortly before 3 p.

The Jackson, Kentucky, weather service office recently cut overnight staff but meteorologists were called in to handle the deadly tornado outbreak.

A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles, left many homeless, and killed at least 19 people, most of them in southeastern Laurel County.

A preliminary survey by National Weather Service Jackson suggests an EF-3 tornado struck Laurel County late Friday.

Nine tornadoes struck Missouri and Kentucky on May 16, including a deadly EF3 in Scott County that killed two people and destroyed homes. The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes up to EF4 strength.

At least three emergency orders were issued in 2024; three were also issued in 2023, five in 2022, two in 2021 and one in 2020. A violent wave of Friday storms and a tornado has killed at least 19 people in Southern Kentucky.

Following DOGE-led staffing cuts to weather forecasters in Kentucky, a deadly tornado struck, raising questions about the government's cost-saving measures.