The National Weather Service has confirmed that a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through southern Kentucky on Friday night, devastating communities across multiple counties.

As Kentucky braced for the possibility of more severe weather Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said the tornado that hit Pulaski and Laurel counties late Friday was an EF-4, with winds of 170 miles per hour.

Meteorologists with the NWS Paducah office have also confirmed several tornadoes in its region the afternoon and evening of May 16. Three tornadoes impacted western Kentucky, including an EF-3 tornado in Morganfield with winds of 155 mph, an EF-2 tornado in Allegre and an EF-2 tornado in Casky.

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.

A seventh straight day of powerful thunderstorms and significant severe weather is ahead from the Midwest to Deep South.