Additionally, there was no evidence that tornado sirens in the area had been deactivated by the Trump administration's budget cuts — if there was, the people affected by the storm certainly would have noted that fact in interviews.

As a storm system approached Jackson, in Southeastern Kentucky, on May 16, a few individuals agreed to work double shifts to make sure timely warnings continued during the overnight hours, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization.

The Storm Prediction Center had tallied 883 local tornado reports this year as of Monday - 35 per cent higher than average for this time of year. View on euronews

Did alerts go out? What type of alerts did people receive? National Weather Service and others have said the Jackson office was staffed Friday night despite staffing shortages.

In an update Tuesday afternoon, officials said the tornado that traveled between Pulaski and Laurel counties was an EF-4 with peak winds of 170 mph. It was on the ground for more than 55 miles and was nearly a mile wide at its maximum width.

Preliminary storm surveys from the National Weather Service have confirmed significant tornado damage across multiple Kentucky counties following the recent severe weather outbreak.

Due to staffing shortages, the National Weather Service in Jackson no longer has overnight staff. But NWS and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear say the office was staffed Friday night and early Saturday.

Survey teams were still working to assess damage into the evening Sunday, but officials said they have already documented severe damage near and west of the London-Corbin Airport.

Areas in Laurel County that were impacted by a tornado late May 16 will be evacuated during the evening hours of May 20 ahead of more severe storms are set to move into the area, state and local officials announce during a news conference.