At least 15 dead, nearly 400,000 without power in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky as storms batter central U.S.

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At least 15 fatalities have been reported as a series of severe storms and tornadoes battered the South and Great Plains over Memorial Day weekend, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power. Residents in Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee were hit with twisters, heavy winds and flooding in terrible conditions that began Saturday and moved into Sunday. A tornado watch was issued for multiple states to last until at least 11 p.m. CT on Sunday. Nearly 400,000 customers in Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky were without power. More than 46,000 are without power in Texas amid sweltering heat, as well as more than 22,000 in Tennessee. Nearly 16,000 customers have outages in Kansas and nearly 14,000 in Indiana, according to poweroutage.us. Concerns about severe weather also forced a four-hour delay for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Spectators were asked to evacuate and take shelter, but were allowed back in after lightning cleared the area around 2 p.m. ET. Seven storm-related deaths were reported out of Cooke County, Texas; two deaths in Mayes County, Oklahoma; five deaths in different counties in Arkansas; and one in Louisville, Kentucky. The dead in Texas included two children, ages 2 and 5, and three family members who were found together in a home near the small community of Valley View, Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said. Additionally, multiple people in Denton County, Texas, were transported to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter for storm-related injuries, officials said, but the full extent of those injuries was not immediately clear. Of the five deaths in Arkansas, one was a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside of a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, said Daniel Bolen of the county’s Office of Emergency Management. The National Weather Service confirmed one tornado in Boone County on Sunday. An additional death in Arkansas was reported in Benton County, one other was reported in Baxter County, and two more were reported in Marion County. Storm damage in Oklahoma City on May 20, 2024. Bryan TerrT / USA TODAY NETWORK One person died in Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Craig Greenberg said on X on Sunday following "the severe weather that just moved through the area and some structural damage reported," he said. The man was believed to have been hit by a tree when he was found dead, WAVE reported. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in an update on X Sunday afternoon that though conditions had calmed some, another wave of storms were expected later in the evening. He also noted at least five counties had declared a state of emergency, and an estimated 213,000 reported power outages. The governor warned people to avoid flooded roads and reminded them to steer clear of downed power lines. “We have gotten through at least the first part of this event and we want to make sure we don’t lose anybody else,” Beshear said. “So everybody out there stay safe, be very weather aware as we go into tonight and late tonight.” Details on the two deaths in Oklahoma were not immediately available. Violent storms overtook the region Saturday evening and overnight, overturning 18-wheelers, destroying homes, toppling power lines and crushing a Shell station in Cooke County where dozens were trapped for a period of time Saturday night, Sappington told NBC News. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported at the truck stop, and those taking shelter appeared to have been evacuated by Sunday morning. One of the Saturday-night tornadoes barreled through a rural area near a mobile home park in Texas, officials said. And in Oklahoma, guests at an outdoor wedding were injured from storm damage. “It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Sappington told The Associated Press. Multiple tornadoes and hail 2 inches in diameter were reported in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to the weather service, and six people were injured and taken for treatment in Mayes County, said Michael Dunham, deputy director of emergency management for Mayes County. In Benton County, Arkansas, “multiple” people were injured as a result of the storms, and emergency response teams were on search and rescue throughout the night, Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway said. And in Baxter County, "close to two dozen" people were taken to the hospital for injuries, including six children. “We are still on search and rescue right now,” Melody Kwok, a county communications director, said. “This is a very active situation.” The final day of Bentonville’s annual Bike Fest, which draws in an estimated 15,000 attendees to the world’s “Mountain Bike Capital,” was canceled Sunday due to the severe weather. “It’s important that all of our attendees, partners, and staff remain safe and continue to shelter as directed, and continue to monitor local weather and public safety directives,” the event’s website said. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the state Sunday afternoon, earmarking $250,000 from the governor's disaster relief fund for the state's Division of Emergency Management. The severe weather will push east on Sunday into the Midwest and Ohio Valley, including Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Storms are expected to affect 42 million people in the region. A tornado watch is in effect in the mid-Mississippi Valley, including Kentucky and Tennessee, through the afternoon. Damaging wind gusts are considered the most likely hazard in the majority of the region, but tornadoes and large hail are also possible as the storms move east. Flash flooding is a risk as the storms creep across the country, especially in the mid-Mississippi Valley, where 3 million are under flood alerts, including in Memphis, Tennessee, and Tupelo, Mississippi. The storms will continue to move east and finish off Monday on the East Coast, where a slight risk of severe weather was issued to the mid-Atlantic, including Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. In this region, 27 million are at risk of experiencing strong to severe thunderstorms. Severe wind will be the main hazard to watch out for, but storms could have the capability of producing large hail or a tornado. Throughout the weekend, rainfall totals are expected to range from 1-2.5 inches, with 3-plus inches possible in areas where training storms develop.