{"id":241635,"date":"2025-05-20T15:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/?p=241635"},"modified":"2025-05-20T15:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:05:14","slug":"severe-weather-tornado-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/news\/severe-weather-tornado-2025","title":{"rendered":"Severe Weather Tornado Terror Grips US : Deadly Storms Wreak Havoc"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Severe Weather Tornado Terror Grips US : Deadly Storms Wreak Havoc<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10726\" src=\"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg\" alt=\"Severe Weather Tornado\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,height=200,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,height=400,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 600w, https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,height=512,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1536,height=1024,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=150,height=100,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/storm-clouds.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As the Central and Southern United States reel from a brutal four-day onslaught of tornadoes and violent storms, the nation stands on edge, bracing for more severe weather. By Monday, May 20, 2025, the catastrophic toll is staggering: over two dozen lives lost, thousands of homes and businesses reduced to rubble, and billions in damages across states from Texas to Kentucky. With forecasters warning of new tornado threats looming, communities are left grappling with grief, destruction, and an uncertain future.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A huge <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/tornado?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#tornado<\/a> passed near a house in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/grinnell?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#grinnell<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Kansas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Kansas<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/USA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#USA<\/a>, 05\/18\/2025). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/D8WECEQBSk\">pic.twitter.com\/D8WECEQBSk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 City Weather (@ukcityweather) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ukcityweather\/status\/1924797547043856724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>A Trail of Ruin Across the Heartland<\/h2>\n<p>The scale of devastation is almost unimaginable. St. Louis alone faces damages exceeding $1.6 billion, while Kentucky has become the epicenter of this meteorological nightmare. From the plains of Texas to the rolling hills of Missouri, entire towns have been reshaped by nature\u2019s fury. Shattered homes, upended lives, and the haunting echo of tornado sirens paint a grim picture of a region under siege. The National Weather Service has issued fresh warnings, with eastern Oklahoma at risk Monday and the threat shifting to Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee by Tuesday.<\/p>\n<h2>Kentucky: A State in Mourning<\/h2>\n<p>Kentucky has endured the worst of this relentless storm system. A monstrous tornado\u2014or possibly multiple twisters\u2014tore through the state from Friday night into Saturday, leaving behind a wasteland of destruction. At least 19 lives were lost, with southeastern Laurel County suffering the heaviest blow. Entire neighborhoods have vanished, replaced by debris-strewn landscapes and the quiet despair of survivors.<\/p>\n<p>In London, Kentucky, the local airport lies in ruins, now serving as a hub for emergency relief efforts. Mayor Randall Weddle, facing a community in chaos, remains steadfast: \u201cWe\u2019re tackling a thousand challenges, but we\u2019ll get through this. We\u2019ll rebuild.\u201d His words reflect the resilience of a town determined to rise from the ashes.<\/p>\n<p>Survivors\u2019 stories are both heartbreaking and inspiring. Lonnie Nantz, 77, clung to his family in a hallway as their home of nearly five decades collapsed around them. Trapped in darkness for 20 agonizing minutes, they emerged unscathed but homeless. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why this happened, but my faith holds strong,\u201d Nantz said, attending church as always on Sunday. Ashley Taylor, a city worker, returned to duty despite her own damaged home, delivering supplies while thanking God for sparing her family. Yet, amidst these tales of survival, tragedy looms large. Laurel County mourns firefighter Leslie Leatherman, who died shielding a woman\u2014his own wife, unbeknownst to him in the storm\u2019s chaos\u2014from the storm\u2019s wrath.<\/p>\n<h2>St. Louis: A City Reeling, Questions Unanswered<\/h2>\n<p>In St. Louis, an EF3 tornado with 150 mph winds left a trail of destruction described by Mayor Cara Spencer as \u201ceight miles of pure devastation.\u201d Five lives were lost, 38 people injured, and over 5,000 homes and buildings damaged. As the city declared a state of emergency, frustration mounts over delays in federal aid and a shocking failure in the warning system. Mayor Spencer admitted that tornado sirens may not have sounded due to unfollowed protocols, raising serious questions about accountability as the city begins its long recovery.<\/p>\n<h2>Severe weather Kansas and Texas: Narrow Escapes and New Threats<\/h2>\n<p>Kansas faced its own close calls, with Greensburg\u2014a town nearly erased by an EF5 tornado in 2007\u2014spared major damage this time. Other areas weren\u2019t as lucky, with tornadoes tearing through Stafford and Reno counties. In Texas, EF1 tornadoes west of Fort Worth caused significant damage but no reported injuries. Both states continue to assess the toll as the storm system moves eastward.<\/p>\n<h2>A Nation Awaits, Storms Persist<\/h2>\n<p>As cleanup begins, the threat of more tornadoes hangs heavy. The National Weather Service warns of heightened risks in eastern Oklahoma Monday, with Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee in the crosshairs by Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) faces scrutiny as its new policy shifts more recovery responsibility to states, leaving communities like St. Louis and London uncertain about federal support.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/news\/trumpnado-firing-noaa-scientists-2025\"><strong>Tramp and NOAA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Central and Southern United States reel from a brutal four-day onslaught of tornadoes and violent storms, the nation stands on edge, bracing for more severe weather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10726,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6649],"class_list":["post-241635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nature-disasters","tag-severe-weather-en","tag-storm-en","tag-tornado"],"acf":[],"wpml_data":{"original_post_id":241635,"trid":"1434382","lang":"en","source_lang":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pogodnik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}