Chicago – April 06, 2025
A powerful storm system sweeping across large parts of the southern and midwestern United States has led to at least 16 weather-related deaths by early Sunday. Forecasters warn that the severe weather, including overnight tornadoes and flash floods, could cause rivers and streams to rise for several more days.
Many areas affected by the storm were already saturated from previous days of intense weather, including deadly tornadoes. New tornado alerts were issued overnight in Alabama and Mississippi, while flash flood warnings were in effect for several counties in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Saturday brought continued heavy rainfall and flash flooding across the central U.S., causing waterways to swell rapidly and prompting emergency responses from Texas to Ohio. Of the 16 deaths reported since the storms began, 10 occurred in Tennessee. The National Weather Service warned that dozens of areas in multiple states were projected to reach “major flood stage,” threatening significant damage to homes, roads, bridges, and vital infrastructure.
In Missouri, a 57-year-old man drowned Friday after exiting a vehicle that had been swept off a road in West Plains. In Kentucky, flooding claimed the lives of a 9-year-old boy on his way to school and a 74-year-old found in a submerged vehicle in Nelson County. In Arkansas, a 5-year-old child died Saturday in a weather-related incident at a home in Little Rock, though details remain unclear.
Earlier in the week, tornadoes devastated entire neighborhoods and were responsible for at least seven fatalities.
The storm also caused major disruptions to travel, with 521 flights canceled and over 6,400 delayed across the U.S. on Saturday. As of early Sunday, 74 more cancellations and 478 delays had been reported. The extreme flooding could impact shipping and supply chains, especially in major cargo hubs like Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, according to AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
The crisis is unfolding amid staffing shortages at the National Weather Service, where nearly half of the forecast offices are operating with 20% fewer employees due to job cuts from the Trump administration—a rate double that of a decade ago.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the Ohio River rose five feet in just 24 hours and is expected to continue rising, potentially making this one of the city’s top 10 worst flooding events in history.
