More than 900 tornadoes have already been reported in the U.S. this year, according to the National Weather Service. This past week saw outbreaks in more than a dozen states that damaged or destroyed countless homes and killed at least 42 people.
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Debris floats in a pool near a severely damaged house on May 18, 2025, in the community of Sunshine Hills outside of London, Kentucky. A tornado struck Sunshine Hills just after midnight on May 17, 2025.
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An aerial view of destroyed homes left in the path of a tornado, seen in London, Kentucky, on May 18, 2025.
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James Sexton is overcome by emotions while cleaning up the debris of his house on May 18, 2025, in the community of Sunshine Hills, outside of London, Kentucky.
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A woman carries her wedding dress after finding it among the debris in the Sunshine Hills neighborhood on May 17, 2025.
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Lesly Karen Cornett stands in a doorway in her destroyed house on May 18, 2025, in Sunshine Hills, outside of London, Kentucky. She and her husband took shelter in their bathtub and were fortunate to only receive a few cuts.
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A drone view shows damaged houses after a tornado struck St. Louis, Missouri, on May 17, 2025.
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Residents inspect their home after a tornado completely tore off the back wall of a two-story house in St. Louis, on May 16, 2025.
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“I have never seen anything like this,” said Jerikah McCloud, who looks out the destroyed second floor of her family home in the Academy neighborhood of St. Louis on May 17, 2025.
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Cars are seen flipped over in a neighborhood in Bloomington, Indiana, after a tornado. Several tornadoes hit Greene and Monroe counties in south central Indiana, leaving a path of destruction.
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The post office in Clear Creek, Indiana, lies in ruins, destroyed by a tornado.
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A billboard is seen twisted and a car mangled in Bloomington, Indiana.
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today / Reuters
A roof is torn off a home along North Main Street, just south of County DF in Juneau, Wisconsin, on May 16, 2025. Several tornados reportedly touched down in western and central Wisconsin bringing damage to the Dodge County area.
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today / Reuters
Utility workers with Alliant Energy work to restore power in Mayville, Wisconsin, on May 16, 2025.
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today / Reuters
Five-year-old Preston Prescher gives his mother, Holly Prescher (not pictured), a hand with storm-damage cleanup at their home in Juneau, Wisconsin, on May 16, 2025.
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Lee Katchen surveys the damage from a tornado that destroyed the house, garage, and other structures of his stepfather, Mark Faber, and mother, Vikki Katchen, in Bennett, Colorado, on May 19, 2025. A large tornado struck the property yesterday destroying everything in its path, and his parents lost everything.
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Vikki Katchen (left) and her friend Janet Copeland walk past debris from a tornado that destroyed Katchen's house in Bennett, Colorado, on May 19, 2025.
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A worker helps board up windows at Joey and Brenda Bermudez’s home that was damaged by a tornado in the Elkhorn Ranch neighborhood in Elbert County, Colorado, on May 19, 2025.
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Debris is seen around and on the trunk of a damaged tree after a tornado hit in London, Kentucky, on May 17, 2025.
Michael Clevenger / Courier-Journal / USA Today / Reuters
A small airplane is pulled from the rubble of a destroyed hangar at London-Corbin Airport after an overnight tornado devastated parts of Laurel County and London, Kentucky, on May 17, 2025.
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A U.S. flag is seen on a destroyed car after a tornado hit London, Kentucky, on May 17, 2025.
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Jeff Davis (left) embraced homeowner Houston Rea, who suffered a total toss of his home, after a tornado tore through the Sublimity neighborhood along Miller Lane in London, Kentucky, on May 18, 2025.
Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
