Communities from Texas to New York were recovering on Tuesday after a devastating holiday weekend that brought tornadoes, storms, and heavy rain, resulting in at least 24 deaths and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Texas is still facing the threat of severe weather, with strong and damaging storms expected through Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, over 780,000 utility customers were without power, according to Poweroutage.us.
National Weather Service offices in Kentucky and Arkansas deployed teams to survey the damage. They found destruction consistent with EF3 tornadoes — the third highest rating on the enhanced Fujita scale, indicating winds of up to 165 mph.
In Paducah, Kentucky, the office reported consulting internally to determine if the tornado should be classified as an EF4, the second highest rating, which corresponds to winds between 166 and 200 mph.
Drone footage revealed the extensive storm damage in Paragould, Arkansas, with homes stripped of roofs and some structures nearly obliterated.
In Louisville, Kentucky, the National Weather Service’s survey team confirmed two EF1 tornadoes with wind speeds up to 90 mph touched down on Sunday.
Despite some power line repairs, over 200,000 customers remained without power across Texas and the Midwest, with 82,000 outages in Kentucky, according to PowerOutage.us.
Ground stops were issued at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport on Tuesday morning. Additionally, a ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport exacerbated travel chaos over the holiday weekend, with airport delays peaking at over 5,000 on Sunday night, according to FlightAware’s Misery Map.
The Transportation Security Administration reported that Friday set a record as the busiest day in U.S. airport history, with 3 million passengers screened, surpassing the previous Thanksgiving record. The AAA estimated that 38 million drivers hit the roads over the weekend, also setting a record.
Memorial Day brought torrential rains with near-zero visibility to Iowa, as seen in social media videos. Hailstones the size of golf balls were seen striking vehicles in Oak Cliff, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.