At least 19 people are dead and thousands are without electricity across nine states after tornadoes and severe storms bombarded the south and midwest over Memorial Day Weekend.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed eight deaths during a Sunday press conference; Seven people - including a mother and her two children - were killed in Cooke County, Texas; two people died in Oklahoma and two people died in Texas.
"Texans across the state are saddened by the tragic loss of life," Governor Greg Abbott said Sunday, speaking of the family that suffered three deaths. "When they woke up yesterday, they had no way of knowing the family would be literally crushed by this horrific storm."
More than half a million people were still without power on Memorial Day - with the worst outages concentrated in Kentucky, where 187, 260 people didn't have electricity, according to poweroutage.us.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear urged residents to stay away from flooded streets and downed powerlines, as the commonwealth remains in a state of emergency.
"We have gotten through at least the first part of this event, and we want to make sure we don't lose anybody else," he said. "So everybody out there stay safe, be very weather-aware as we go into tonight and late tonight."
The National Weather Service's Storm Alert System continues to advise caution for residents of northern Alabama, southeastern Arkansas, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Louisiana and northeastern Mississippi.
"A band of strong-severe thunderstorms is expected to shift into the watch area through the remainder of the pre-dawn hours, while a few, more isolated cells form near the southern edge of the favorable warm-sector air that is relatively uncapped," the NWS said.
"These will pose a threat for a few tornadoes, several damaging to severe gusts and isolated large hail."
