Scientists have explained that powerful thunderstorm cells were the result of a collision between warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico and colder, drier air from the north. Huge air funnels hit several states in the middle of the night.
Experts have called these tornadoes one of the most powerful in history. According to preliminary estimates, their range was at least 400 kilometers - this has never happened, meteorologists say. Prior to that, the largest tornado was observed in March 1925 - the funnel traveled a distance of 355 kilometers, passing through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Strong air currents have lifted cars and parts of houses to a height of at least nine kilometers, and a meteorological station located near Mayfield in Kentucky recorded a gust of wind at 1 speed of 72 kilometers per hour. A train was derailed.
In the city of Mayfield, Kentucky, the number of victims of the tornado may exceed 110. All of them were at the candle factory at the time of the disaster. In the city of about 10,000 people, pieces of fittings, metal, broken power lines and crushed cars can be seen on the streets. The roofs of the surviving buildings have been torn off, the windows have been broken. Rescue operations have been hampered because the Mayfield Fire Department and the Emergency Center were also affected by the disaster, the Associated Press reported.
According to preliminary data, more than 70 people died as a result of the tornado in Kentucky and more than 20 in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. According to Governor Andy Besher, quoted by Axios, the death toll in Kentucky could exceed 100. He called it "the worst, most destructive and deadly tornado" in the history of the state. US President Joe Biden on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Kentucky and ordered federal aid to the region.
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