Damage in the Sunshine Hills subdivision Saturday after a tornado tore through Laurel County and London, Kentucky. (Michael Clevenger/USA Today Network/Reuters)
By Scott Dance
If not for the storms, the understaffed National Weather Service office responsible for monitoring weather hazards across eastern Kentucky would have gone dark by midnight. It’s one of a growing number of the agency’s local offices that have been unable to cover overnight shifts after the Trump administration significantly reduced staffing levels through buyouts and firings this year.