Updated May 17, 2025 at 4:11 PM MST

Powerful storms and tornadoes ripped through several Midwestern and Southern states overnight Friday, leaving flattened buildings and at least 27 people dead in their wake.

At least 18 people have died in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday evening, and acknowledged that number could rise.

Gov. Beshear spoke at a press conference on Saturday in London, Ky., a hard-hit city in the southeastern part of the state. The governor and other officials who spoke were emotional as they described the devastation.

Karyn Czar / WUKY / WUKY

"This is a devastating tornado that tore through a subdivision in the middle of the night, and that is the worst kind of disaster," Beshear said.

One of the victims was a first responder, Roger Leslie Leatherman, a

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