Climate Impact Report – 5/19

Key Facts Of The Day 5/19

Storms and Flooding

• On Monday morning, residents dug out from tornado damage after storms killed 28 people in Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia.
  • On Sunday, more than 20 tornadoes were reported across Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.
  • Kentucky was hardest hit as a devastating tornado damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles about, and left many homeless.
  • A tornado touched down at least three times near Bennett, Colorado, damaging 17 buildings, including six homes.
  • Tornadoes in Elbert County, Colorado, damaged 19 homes.
  • In Grinnell, Kansas, a tornado tore the roof off a church, leveled homes, and caused several vehicles to flip on Sunday night.
  • The storms hit after the Trump administration massively cut the staffing of National Weather Service offices.
    • The office in Jackson, Kentucky, which was responsible for the area around London, Kentucky, had a March 2025 vacancy rate of 25 percent; the Louisville, Kentucky, weather service staff was down 29 percent; and the St. Louis office was down 16 percent.
• A severe storm system was expected to bring strong winds and large hail, possibly the size of baseballs, to parts of the Midwest through Monday night.
  • The National Weather Service in Wichita, Kansas, warned that severe thunderstorms were likely on Monday afternoon and evening.

Wildfires

• A new study found that the weather conditions that enabled the Los Angeles wildfires were made 35 percent more likely by climate change.

Extreme Heat

• A new study found that the combination of extreme heat and sustained drought in the Sonoran Desert is taking a toll on our iconic saguaro cactuses.