Kentucky, tornado
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The Jackson, Kentucky, weather service office recently cut overnight staff but meteorologists were called in to handle the deadly tornado outbreak.
The National Weather Service has confirmed that a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through southern Kentucky on Friday night, devastating communities across multiple counties.
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.
According to NWS, the damage survey found two brief EF1 tornadoes occurred in the early morning hours of May 20. The first tornado impacted the north side of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It touched down at the Cape Splash Aquatic Center at 1:08 a.m., causing some damage to the facility.
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.
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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 EF-4 tornado that caused extensive damage in Kentucky this past weekend has sparked conversations about warning systems, particularly tornado sirens.
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.
The National Weather Service has finished its survey of the deadly tornado that ripped through southeastern Kentucky last week.
States like Kentucky, along with several that stretch from Texas to Iowa, remain at risk of severe conditions.
As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode.