Deadly tornadoes slam through six states

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced the creation of the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, an online portal where people can donate funds to assist Kentuckians impacted by the devastation of the storms.

Beshear said the state’s Department of Transportation and Division of Forestry is currently working to clear roads in the state as emergency rescue crews travel to help neighborhoods hit by the storm.

Debris is wrapped around damaged trees as emergency workers search through what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory after it was destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 11. (John Amis/AFP/Getty Images)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has approved a request from FEMA to deploy resources to help in the search and rescue efforts in Western Kentucky after the devastating tornadoes.

Abbott said he activated 10 Texas A&M Task Force 1 personnel along with a cache of equipment, according to a statement released Saturday afternoon.

The statement said specialized technical gear and command, control and communication equipment will be a part of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams heading to the region.

“The state of Texas stands ready to assist our friends in Kentucky as they continue their response and recovery efforts in the wake of deadly tornadoes that shook the western portion of their state overnight,” Abbott said in the statement. “Thank you to the members of Texas A&M Task Force 1 who are making their way to Western Kentucky to help those in need.”

President Joe Biden speaks about the tornados which swept across the US, in Wilmington, Delaware on December 11. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

President Biden said he will be visiting Kentucky once it’s clear he and his staff will not “get in the way of rescue and recovery” efforts.

(Pool)

President Biden shared words of support Saturday afternoon to the states responding to the devastation following the storms.

Earlier today: Biden approved a federal emergency declaration for Kentucky, the White House announced Saturday, after tornadoes tore through the state Friday night into Saturday morning.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Friday, ordering the National Guard to position to search for survivors in multiple counties and carry out debris removal with the Division of Forestry. 

Beshear also requested an emergency declaration from the White House, telling reporters he was told the government is sending resources their way.

The White House has already confirmed calls from Biden with Beshear and with the governors of surrounding states also affected by the storms.

(Office of Gov. Andy Beshear)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the tornadoes that ripped across the state, “the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky’s history,” speaking at a news conference in Bowling Green Saturday afternoon.

The governor said he believes that the death toll will be over 100, saying “I think it can rise significantly.”

Beshear also spoke about the historic nature of the storms.

“This was four different tornados, and I’m told we’re actually going to see a little bit more on that, that hit us, including one that touched down in Arkansas and then stayed on the ground for 227 straight miles, which we believe is likely the longest in US history,” the governor said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear shared words of encouragement as recovery efforts continue around the state following the devastating storms.

A Bowling Green, Kentucky, resident surveys the damage following a tornado that struck the area on December 11. (Gunnar Word/AFP/Getty Images)

This weekend, nearly 30 tornadoes wreaked havoc across Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee.

They struck overnight, catching families asleep and unable to prepare. At least 70 people are feared dead in Kentucky, with additional deaths in Arkansas and Illinois.

There were at least 254,684 people without power in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas, according to PowerOutage.US. On Friday, more than 100 tornado warnings were issued before midnight, the most ever for a December day.

Kentucky’s Director of Emergency Management Michael Dossett described the situation as “one of the darkest days in the state’s history.”

Click here to learn more on how you can help those impacted by the storms.

Emergency workers search through what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Supervisors at the candle factory leveled by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, have been working with first responders on the scene to identify key areas to search for survivors, one supervisor told CNN.

Rescue teams from surrounding counties have been urgently sifting through the rubble alongside private construction firms, who have showed up in recent hours with their own heavy machinery. 

While family members of factory workers and community members had come to the scene in the overnight hours to help search, authorities Saturday asked for anyone who is not a first responder to stay away.

Still, Mayfield residents and neighbors have dropped off pallets of water and snacks for visibly emotional responders. 

A majority of the people being treated for injuries sustained by the deadly tornado that ripped through Kentucky had chemical burns, long bone injuries and crush injuries, Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital spokesperson Nanette Bentley in Paducah, Kentucky, told CNN on Saturday.

Paducah is approximately 27 miles north of Mayfield, Kentucky, where the tornado left the most significant damage in the state.

President Biden has approved a federal emergency declaration for Kentucky, the White House announced Saturday, after tornadoes tore through the state Friday night into Saturday morning.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Friday, ordering the National Guard to position to search for survivors in multiple counties and carry out debris removal with the Division of Forestry. 

Beshear also requested an emergency declaration from the White House, telling reporters he was told the government is sending resources their way.

The White House has already confirmed calls from Biden with Beshear and with the governors of surrounding states also affected by the storms.

Collapsed buildings and rubble on a street in Mayfield, Kentucky,. Multiple tornadoes tore through parts of the lower Midwest late on Friday night leaving a large path of destruction and multiple fatalities

Mayfield, Kentucky, Mayor Kathy O’Nan said deadly storms left her city looking “like matchsticks.”

A candle factory in town with about 110 workers inside was destroyed when a tornado hit. No one has been successfully recovered from the candle factory since around 3 a.m. ET, she said.

While O’Nan said she does not know how many people are missing at this time, Graves County coroner Brad Jones told CNN that “about 40” people remain unaccounted for at the candle factory.

The city is in the process of setting up a distribution center for supplies, O’Nan said. 

CNN’s Kevin Conlon contributed to this post.

President Biden spoke Saturday to the governors of Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, the White House said, offering “condolences for the lives lost and the damage impacting their states as a result of the tornadoes and extreme weather overnight.”

Per the White House, Biden “asked the governors to call him directly if there is any federal support they need and said he will remain focused on doing everything he can to help communities recover from the effects of this historic storm.”

Joining Biden on Saturday’s call were FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon and White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Julie Chavez Rodriguez.

Earlier Saturday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNN the President spoke to the governors of the affected states.

Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas have all reported fatalities from the overnight storm.

Biden also spoke with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear earlier Saturday “to express his condolences for the lives lost and the devastation that Kentucky experienced.”

The President is expected to address the tornadoes in remarks later Saturday afternoon.

A CNN Weather analysis of warning data shows that residents of Mayfield, Kentucky, received more than 20 minutes of lead time before the tornado struck.

The initial tornado warning from the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Kentucky, was issued at 9:05 p.m. CST.  It warned of a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado” and listed the arrival time in Mayfield to be around 9:30 p.m. CST. The initial warning also contained a “damage considerable” NWS tag, indicating that the tornado was observed and was likely to produce considerable damage.

At 9:26 p.m. CST, the warning was upgraded to a “tornado emergency,” the highest level of tornado warning, which advised of a “life-threatening” situation.

Based on forensic radar data and storm reports, the tornado struck Mayfield around 9:27 p.m. CST, with a report indicating that major damage had occurred in town.

That meant that residents had at least 22 minutes of lead time before the tornado struck, which is nearly double the average lead time of 13 minutes for tornado warnings in the US, according to NOAA.

People survey storm damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 11.

The city of Mayfield, Kentucky, is putting a curfew in place beginning at 7 p.m. ET, Police Chief Nathan Kent said at a news conference Saturday.

Earlier today, Gov. Andy Beshear called Mayfield “ground zero” for the storms.

President Biden will deliver remarks this afternoon on the devastating storms that tore through parts of the US, a White House official said.

The President is spending the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Earlier in the day, the President was briefed by FEMA Director Deanne Criswell, Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and other officials and directed a “surge” of federal resources to communities impacted by the storm.

Biden has also spoken with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and other governors of states hit by the storm.

Hutchinson told CNN that Biden has spoken to five governors of states affected by tornados overnight Friday into Saturday morning.

Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas have all reported fatalities from Friday’s storm. 

Hutchinson said he’s in touch with the federal government in case the need arises for a federal response, but the state is taking the lead on relief efforts for the time being.

“Right now, if we needed anything, we would ask for it and we would get it, but we’re capable right now with our resources in this state to respond to the need,” he said. “We’ll see if anything additional is needed, right now, it’s clearing, it’s debris removal, we want to make sure that the personal needs are met in terms of shelter, and our churches, our non-profits are really stepping up to accomplish that, so we’re good right now.”

The main fire station and some of the police assets in Mayfield, Kentucky, are inoperable as a result of the tornado system that ripped through the area, according to officials.

One of Mayfield’s fire stations – “our main station and the hub of our department”— is inoperable after being in the direct line of the tornado, the city’s fire chief and EMS director Jeremy Creason said at a news conference earlier Saturday.

Creason said he’s looking for an alternative location to house 45 firefighters and their equipment.

Interoperability and communications will be the greatest challenge police will face in the coming days, Mayfield Police Chief Nathan Kent said during the news conference, adding that the state police’s communications branch is assisting. 

“Our police station was destroyed in the storm. The bulk of our fleet that was parked there has also been compromised, but we are making do,” he said.

The Mayfield Police Department is beginning 12-hour shifts to provide 24-hour patrol beginning this evening. 

Emergency crews search through the flattened Mayfield Consumer Products building on December 11, in Mayfield, Kentucky.

The bulk of Mayfield’s fire and emergency medical service assets are located at the candle factory that was devastated by the tornado system that ripped through the Kentucky town.

The location is the city’s “priority one,” fire chief and EMS director Jeremy Creason said at a news conference earlier Saturday, adding that officials are still working through rescue and recovery operations.

EMS volume has stabilized, Creason said.

Eleven counties have sent ambulance crews to Mayfield to assist the city’s first responders, he said.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the focus now is on damage assessment after storms hit the state.

Hutchinson told CNN that he spoke with President Biden on the phone, who he said “assured us of support.”

Hutchinson confirmed at least two deaths in Arkansas, one at a Monette nursing home and another at a Dollar General store in Jackson County.

“Probably the most remarkable thing is that there’s not a greater loss of life,” he said.

“We will be continuing to work to assess the damage in the coming days, and also to account for those that are still in critical condition and might have needs. I talked to them about the need for shelter, and we have, you know, our nonprofits, our churches, that are standing ready in the event of assistance if shelters need to be established,” he said.

Hutchinson urged residents to report damage to their homes to local emergency management offices.

Hutchinson also said he issued an emergency declaration for four counties in northeast Arkansas on Saturday.

“We’ll see if we meet the damage assessments that [are] needed for federal assistance. But I have declared an emergency today,” Hutchinson said. 

The governor said tornadoes happening in December is “very unusual,” adding that “the length and the damage done by this one sequence of tornadoes or one tornado” was also atypical.

The last time Monette had any significant damage from a tornado was in 1984, Monette Mayor Bob Blankenship said. He added that the warning system is updated and that their emergency warning system was automatically activated once Cricket County was put under the warning, at least 25 minutes before the storm hit. 

Blankenship also said the city was well-prepared for the storm.

“We worked very hard putting a plan together,” he said.

President Biden spoke with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this morning, expressing his “condolences for the lives lost” and pledging federal assistance after storms and tornadoes ripped through several Midwest and southeastern states overnight. 

In a statement earlier this morning, the White House said Biden was briefed on the storms and that he directed federal resources be “surged immediately.”

At least 79 people have died in the series of tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest and the southeastern US overnight, according to state and local officials.

Here are the current death toll figures: 

Deadly storms hit the central and southern United States late Friday and early Saturday,killing dozens and leaving a trail of devastation.

More than 30 tornadoes were reported across six states, including Kentucky, where the governor says the death toll will exceed 50 after “one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history.”

Kentucky

Debris and structural damage can be seen at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, early Saturday, December 11.

People work at the scene of a train derailment in Earlington, Kentucky.

Illinois

Rescue personnel work at an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville, Illinois, that was heavily damaged during storms on Friday, December 10.

Tennessee

Damage is seen in Dickson County, Tennessee.

Arkansas

In the northeastern Arkansas city of Monette, at least one person was dead after a tornado damaged a nursing home Friday, trapping others inside before being rescued. At least 20 were also injured at the facility, Mayor Bob Blankenship told CNN.

See more photos here.

After a deadly night of extreme weather, questions of whether climate change is intensifying tornadoes are beginning to emerge.

But research about the connection between the climate crisis and tornadoes is not as robust as other extreme weather, like drought, floods and hurricanes. 

The short and small scale of tornadoes, coupled with an extremely inconsistent and unreliable historical record, makes linking outbreaks to long-term, human-caused climate change extremely challenging. 

Victor Gensini, a professor at Northern Illinois University and one of the top tornado experts, said last night’s outbreak is one of the most remarkable tornado events in US history — and while climate change may have played a role, it’s not yet clear what that role was.

Jennifer Marlon, a climate scientist at the Yale School of Environment, told CNN it’s early to say what the connection is in last night’s outbreak, but there are “some really important signatures that suggest that this very well may be linked to climate change,” and that scientists are “observing changes in the outbreaks, not just the severity of individual outbreaks and tornadoes, but also quiet periods.”

For example, if any of last night’s tornadoes are rated EF-5 (estimated winds of 260 mph or greater), it would end a streak of 3,126 days since the last EF-5, which is the longest stretch without since the records began in 1950. The last EF-5 tornado was the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado on May 20, 2013.

Some studies also indicate climate change could be contributing to an eastward shift in tornado alley, for instance, resulting in more tornadoes occurring in the more heavily populated states east of the Mississippi river, such as this tornado outbreak.

But Gensini said one thing is certain: regardless of climate change, these types of tornado disasters will continue to worsen as humans alter the landscape and build larger, more sprawling cities.

“We have more assets and more targets for the severe storms to hit,” he said. “So even if you take climate change out of the equation, which is very likely to make the problem worse, we still have this issue of human and societal vulnerability.”

An 84-year-old woman died during overnight storms in the community of Defiance, Missouri, according to St. Charles County Emergency Management’s Mary Enger.  

Enger said the woman was at home when the storm hit and had no other details on the circumstances.

Defiance, Missouri, is an unincorporated community west of St. Louis.  

Deanne Criswell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, “described the severe consequences, including in Kentucky, and tragic losses of life” following storms that swept through parts of the central US, according to details from the briefing President Biden received this morning.

Biden was briefed by Criswell, his homeland security adviser, his deputy chief of staff and the intergovernmental affairs director on the storms.

“She [Criswell] also briefed on the rapid deployment of FEMA emergency response personnel, water and other needed commodities,” the White House added.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

At least 70 Kentuckians are likely dead following a devastating tornado system, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news conference Saturday morning, adding “it may, in fact, exceed 100 before the day is done.”

Three people were killed in overnight storms in Tennessee, according to a news release from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

One person was killed in Obion County and two died in Lake County in the first wave of storms to hit the state.  

Lake and Obion counties are located north of Memphis in the state’s northwest corner.  

Kyanna Parsons-Perez survived being trapped in a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, that was devastated by a tornado.

She said she and her coworkers were moved to a shelter area when suddenly the tornado came upon the building.

She said it felt unreal, like being in a movie.

“At first, I was really calm, and I was trying to keep my coworkers calm … but then, after being pinned down for so long, and my legs were hurting and I couldn’t move them and I couldn’t feel them and stuff like that, I started to panic myself,” she said.

There were about 110 people inside the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory at the time the tornado hit, Gov. Andy Beshear said during a morning press conference, adding that “we believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals.”

Parsons-Perez said she start shooting a live video on Facebook before the tornado hit.

She said coworkers were shouting out requests to call their families.

She was rescued after being pinned by a water fountain and air-conditioning unit. The first-responder who lifted her out told her there was 5 feet of debris on her.

Parsons-Perez said she knows one of the workers who died.

Parsons-Perez said she is going to go to the hospital soon because her head is hurting and she feels sore.

WATCH:

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06:44 - Source: cnn

Vice President Kamala Harris said she and her husband were praying for the communities affected by this weekend’s storms.

Read the tweet:

University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach, John Calipari, said the team is “devastated” by the tornadoes that hit Kentucky late Friday.

Calipari said the team, which plays the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana, later today, stopped by the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on Notre Dame’s campus to “pray for everyone affected.” 

Calipari posted a picture of the team at Grotto.

The men’s basketball team tweeted, “We love you, Kentucky.”

After a catastrophic tornado leveled the building, the families of workers at a Mayfield, Kentucky, candle factory are searching for loved ones who they haven’t been able to reach hours after the storm.

Paige Tingle is looking for her mother-in-law, Jill Monroe. Tingle said the family last spoke with Monroe around 9:30 p.m. ET when she was in the bathroom in the safe shelter area. 

Currently, Tingle and her husband are driving from Oldham County, Kentucky to Mayfield. 

“[Monroe] has lung problems, she has heart problems,” Tingle said. “We’ve got to get her.” 

Tingle says that they have checked local hospitals, but Monroe has not been admitted. They have been calling her phone and it’s still ringing, but no one has picked up.

Paducah, Kentucky, resident Ivy Williams told CNN his wife Janine Williams is also unaccounted for.  

Williams said he last heard from his wife last night before the tornado hit. His daughter told him that the factory was damaged, but when Williams arrived on the scene, he wasn’t prepared to see the building was completely leveled. 

He told CNN that he even helped pull some people from the rubble. However, he still hasn’t found his wife. 

“I’m looking for you, baby,” Williams said. “We’re all looking for you right now.” 

Whitney Westerfield, a certified drone operator and Kentucky state senator, shot drone videos and photos of the damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Saturday morning.

Westerfield wasn’t sure what the buildings in the photo were.

Some of the nearby buildings appeared to be destroyed.

See the photos:

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said damage is worse than previously thought in western Kentucky after deadly tornadoes ripped through the state.

He said at least 50 people are dead, but he estimated there will be more fatalities.

At the site of a leveled candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, Beshear said there has not been a successful rescue since 3 a.m. ET.

“This tornado on the ground for 200-plus miles, everything in its wake is gone — homes, businesses, government buildings, just gone. There are pieces of industrial facilities in trees. It’s hard to imagine that this is even possible,” he said.

Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan told CNN that “it looks like a bomb has gone on off here.”

Beshear said resources are in the process of being sent to damaged areas.

“We’ve requested an emergency declaration from the White House. That is in process. We are told it’s going to happen and they are already sending resources our way. We’ve got first responders from all over the commonwealth, coming to where they’re needed the most. Mayfield is ground zero,” he said.

A plausible “quad-state” tornado potentially cut a path 250 miles long across four states Friday evening, leaving a path of devastation.

It will take days for the National Weather Service to conduct reviews of the path and it likely won’t be confirmed if this was one single tornado on the ground for the entirety or multiples until sometime next week.

As the storm was ongoing last night, the Storm Prediction Center said the long-track supercell in Kentucky had a nearly continuous tornado debris signature on radar for over three hours.

By the time the storm ended, it appears that the debris signature likely lasted continually for at least four hours.

To note: If confirmed that a single tornado tracked this entire distance of 250 miles across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, it would become the longest recorded single tornado path in history.

That length would make this ‘quad-state’ tornado longer than the historic ‘tri-state’ tornado in 1925, which traveled across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and traveled 219 miles.

This single storm has reportedly caused considerable tornado damage in Monette, Arkansas, and Mayfield and Central City, Kentucky.

It will take days for the National Weather Service to conduct reviews of the path and we won’t know if this was one single tornado or multiples until sometime next week.

Read the tweet:

Tornado warnings issued from December 10th through the morning of December 11th.

More than 100 tornado warnings were issued by National Weather Service offices Friday before midnight.

That is the highest number of tornado warnings issued for a December day, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. 

Heavy damage is seen in Mayfield, Kentucky after a tornado swept through the area.

President Biden called losing a loved one in a storm like the ones that swept across parts of the US early Saturday “an unimaginable tragedy.”

Deanne Criswell, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Saturday she’d spoken with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear after his state was battered by a string of deadly tornadoes.

Criswell pledged “all federal resources necessary” as search-and-rescue efforts continue in the state.

Read the tweet:

At least 331,549 utility customers are without power in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas as severe storms and multiple tornadoes ripped through the area overnight, according to PowerOutage.US.

At least 130,000 customers in Tennessee alone are without power at this hour, PowerOutage.US reported.

Whitney Westerfield, a certified drone operator and Kentucky state senator, shot drone videos of the damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, on Saturday morning.

One of the videos shows the damage to downtown Mayfield, including the courthouse.

Westerfield lives about 90 miles east of Mayfield in Christian County.

Watch the videos:

President Biden was briefed Saturday morning on the string of devastating storms that swept across areas of the South and Midwest overnight.

 ”@POTUS has been briefed on the overnight storms and the White House is closely monitoring the impacts of the severe weather across much of our country. We are heartbroken by the devastation,” Press Sec. Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter.

Biden is spending the weekend at him Wilmington, Delaware, home. He arrived Friday evening and is expected to return to Washington on Sunday afternoon.

Staff accompanying the President in Delaware this weekend include White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Joshua Geltzer.

Earlier, Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear said he had requested an emergency declaration from Biden and the federal government.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will tour areas impacted by the tornadoes that ripped through his state overnight, according to a release from his office Saturday.

Beshear will first go to Mayfield Saturday morning, then to Dawson Springs in the afternoon, his office said.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul issued a statement promising support to local officials following the overnight devastation from deadly storms across the state.

Craighead County, Arkansas, Judge Marvin Day told CNN that the county coroner confirmed one person died in Monette when tornadoes ripped through the town overnight.

Five other people were injured after a tornado hit a nursing home in the town, Day added, saying the nursing home is a “complete loss.” Other structures throughout the county were also damaged, he said.

“To my understanding, those five, their primary issue had been head injuries,” Day said.

Others had arm or wrist fractures and some people were trapped, but Day added he’s thankful it was not “as bad as it could have been.”

Day said that given the devastation the tornado wreaked upon the nursing home, it was a miracle that most people made it out “just fine.”

Day, who lives in Jonesboro, a town near Monette, said the storm also came close to his house. The storm “came within a quarter-mile of our house, so yes, we were near our storm shelter but did not get in,” Day said.

Scene from Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, in Mayfield, Kentucky, early Saturday, December 11, 2021.

A tornado left a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, “just a pile of rubble,” according to a storm chaser on the ground.

“When I got to this area, it was flashing lights in every direction. Trees down, roads impassable. It looked like a war zone. … What you’re seeing behind me is nothing to what goes on for the next four or five miles,” Michael Gordon told CNN.

There were about 110 people inside the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory at the time the tornado hit, Gov. Andy Beshear said during a morning press conference, adding that “we believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals.”

Search-and-rescue teams are in the process of going through the rubble, Gordon said.

Kentucky Rep. James Comer told CNN that it appears the worst of the damage is in the Mayfield area. He said it was the candle factory’s busiest time of the year because of the holiday season, and it was one of the largest employers in the town.

Comer said the area will need a lot of assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky shared his condolences following the devastation caused by tornadoes across his state.

Read the tweet from McConnell’s office:

Winter commencement ceremonies scheduled for Saturday at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green were canceled due to the aftermath of a major tornado outbreak in the region.

Students on campus were advised to remain in place, while others were told not to travel to the campus.

“WKU is in contact with all residential staff, and no injuries are reported on campus at this time,” the university said.

Bob Blankenship, mayor of Monette, Arkansas, told CNN that his town was in a “daze” after a tornado ripped through the area overnight.

Two deaths were reported as of this morning in Monette and one in a nearby town, Blankenship said Saturday.

Power is also out in the town, and Blankenship said he does not know when it will be back.

“We’re still without power. Shower units and feeding units will come in shortly this morning from different organizations to help us,” Blankenship added. “There’s no time limit or frame of when electricity will be on since it covered so much area.”

Blankenship praised the warning system that is in place for residents, saying it saved a lot of lives. He said the system was activated approximately 15-20 minutes before the storm was detected 20 miles from Monette. He also said that “sister cities” are helping Monette with this emergency.

Blankenship said that he and his family also had to take cover.

The mayor said the town was prepared.

“We practiced and practiced, but it’s totally different when the reality is here,” he added.

Blankenship said a Monette nursing home was badly affected, but many homes were hit as well.

“I get a call that the nursing home has been hit,” Blankenship said. “Then several more houses and a housing development across the road from that nursing home, there was three homes we know were destroyed over there and several damaged over there and nobody injured.”

Blankenship also said that despite what happened, he’s glad they were spared the worst.

“We are glad that Monette was spared the worst of these storms,” he said, adding that their hearts go out to those lost lives and their families.

Some context: At least 30 tornadoes were reported overnight, with Kentucky being the hardest-hit state.

At least 50 people are expected dead, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Kevin Thompson captured video at about 11:00 p.m. CT Friday of the storms approaching while standing on his deck outside his house in Central City, Kentucky.

In the video, tornado sirens can be heard in the background as the darkness is briefly interrupted by flashes of lightning that show the tornado.

Thompson said he hasn’t been able to leave his home, so is unaware of any damage reported in the town.

Watch the video:

At least 254,684 utility customers are without power in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas, according PowerOutage.US as severe storms ripped through the area overnight.

At least 132,000 customers in Tennessee alone are without power, PowerOutage.US reports.

There have been over 30 tornado reports so far across portions of six states — and while the threat is slowly diminishing, it is not over yet.

A tornado watch is in effect over eastern Kentucky until 9 a.m. ET. A tornado watch is also in effect for parts of eastern Tennessee, northern Alabama and northeast Mississippi until 11 a.m. CT.

A level 2 of 5 risk covers 15 million people today from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast.

The line of storms is currently tracking from Ohio to Texas. As the storms move east into a more stable air mass, they should slowly diminish, but the threat for an isolated tornado still exists, especially in the tornado watch areas.

An Amazon distribution center is heavily damaged after severe weather moved through the area on December 10, in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Officials in Edwardsville, Illinois, say rescuers are facing a huge challenge in finding missing workers at an Amazon warehouse that partially collapsed in severe weather.

“It’s an utter disaster,” police chief Mike Fillback said in a press conference Saturday morning.

Fillback confirmed that at least two people were dead, and rescue efforts are going slowly for the safety of first responders. “You have concrete, and you have things hanging,” said Fillback. “It’s quite windy outside, so things are unstable.”

Fillback said dozens of people were able to leave the scene without serious injury, although it is impossible to give an exact number since some were able to walk away without assistance.

Officials won’t speculate on how long rescue operations will continue, but the cleanup work will not be over soon. “This will be ongoing for the next several days,” said Edwardsville Mayor Art Risavy.

Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha called the situation a “devastating tragedy.”

“Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted. This is a devastating tragedy for our Amazon family and our focus is on supporting our employees and partners,” Rocha said in a statement.

Kentucky Director of Emergency Management Michael Dossett described the damage caused by tornadoes in his state as “one of the darkest days in the state’s history.”

Dossett said that “all assets” are heading to Western Kentucky, one of the hardest hit areas, including the National Guard and incident management teams. He also said that Gov. Andy Beshear had already signed a letter requesting immediate assistance from FEMA and is hoping to get a response by later today. 

Dossett urged residents to remain indoors unless it’s an emergency.

Severe damage is seen to downtown buildings in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 10.

At least 50 people are likely dead after multiple tornadoes barreled through southwestern Kentucky late Friday, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. 

“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians, probably end up closer to 70 to 100 lost lives,” Beshear said at a briefing Saturday morning, calling the storms that hit the state “the most severe tornado event in Kentucky’s history.”

Preliminary investigations indicate four tornadoes may have hit the state, including one that potentially stayed on the ground for more than 200 miles, Beshear said. Damage has been reported in at least 15 counties stretching across western Kentucky. 

The worst destruction was in Graves County, he told CNN affiliate WLKY, particularly the town of Mayfield. “It hit Mayfield as hard as just about any town … has ever been hit.”

The most severe damage appeared to be at a candle factory that was destroyed in the town of about 10,000 residents in southwestern Kentucky.

“There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it. We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals,” Beshear said.