Amid early suggestions that another difficult summer lies ahead for North America, a series of devastating storms as well as a severe heat wave have hit several states in the central and southern U.S., leaving at least 20 people dead.
Most of the deaths have resulted from tornadoes in Texas — where seven people were killed in a trailer park in Cooke County, according to the AP — and Arkansas, where eight people died in different parts of the state. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency, announcing in a post on X that three people had died in that state amid “multiple reports of wind damage and tornadoes.” Two people have also been killed near Tulsa, Oklahoma, reportedly after a storm devastated the site of an outdoor wedding.
