At least 21 dead after severe weather pounds central, southern US

VALLEY VIEW, Texas — Multiple people were killed after a powerful storm made its way through the central United States late Saturday evening.

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Update 5:32 p.m. EDT May 27: The death toll from storms that swept through the central and southern U.S. during Memorial Day weekend has risen to 21, The Associated Press reported.

Fatalities were reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky, according to the news organization.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported that five people had died in the stated. The death toll also included seven deaths from a tornado that ripped through Cooke County, Texas, on Saturday, the AP reported. Eight deaths have been reported in Arkansas.

-- Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Update 8:35 a.m. EDT May 27: At least 20 people were dead and hundreds injured following a deadly spate of severe weather Saturday night, the Associated Press reported.

Seven deaths were reported in Texas’ Cooke County, located near the Oklahoma border. The dead included two young children and three family members killed in a single home, according to authorities.

Eight people died in the storms in Arkansas, including one who suffered a heart attack and another who died after a power outage cut off their oxygen supply, the AP reported.

-- Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Update 3:19 p.m. EDT: The death toll in Arkansas rose from at least two killed to at least five killed, Daniel Bolen of the county’s emergency management office said, per the AP.

Update 11:57 a.m. EDT: At least 11 people were killed in the storms across three states Saturday evening, the AP reported.

The deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, and by the Oklahoma border, the AP reported.

At least two killed were in Arkansas which included a 26-year-old woman, according to Daniel Bolen, with Boone County’s Office of Emergency Management. Another was in Benton County, Arkansas, a county communications director said.

Two of those killed include two children ages 2 and 5, Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told the AP.

Original story: Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Associated Press that at least five people were killed after the powerful storms Saturday night. Three of those killed were family members. Sappington said that they were found in a house in Valley View, which is located near the Oklahoma border. The victims’ names have not been released.

“Search and rescue is ongoing,” Sappington said Sunday morning, according to the AP. “But we’ve already started to do recovery of the deceased, as well. But we do have five confirmed (dead), but sadly, we think that that number is probably going to go up.”

“I hope we can find survivors, and we’re still trying hard,” Sappington told WFAA, according to The Washington Post.

Sappington said that two children were reported missing and have not been located as of Sunday morning, CNN reported.

The City of Denton Fire Department reported “multiple victims” in Ray Roberts, according to CNN. Crews and other resources were sent to the area. Multiple houses were damaged, trees fell over, 18-wheelers were overturned and residents in the area lost power.

A tornado was confirmed by Valley View that was going about 40 mph, Denton County Community Relations Director Dawn Cobb said in a statement obtained by the AP.

Cobb said that tractor-trailer trucks were overturned and had stopped traffic by Interstate 35, the AP reported.

The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth issued multiple tornado warnings Saturday evening for residents to shelter immediately in multiple cities in North Texas, according to CNN.

Parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri were also issued tornado warnings by the National Weather Service. Around 300,000 people in those states including Texas did not have electricity, according to Poweroutage.us per the Post.

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