As a storm system approached Jackson, in Southeastern Kentucky, on May 16, a few individuals agreed to work double shifts to make sure timely warnings continued during the overnight hours, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization.

Did alerts go out? What type of alerts did people receive? National Weather Service and others have said the Jackson office was staffed Friday night despite staffing shortages.

A deadly severe weather outbreak spawned at least one tornado in 22 states from May 15 - 21. Among the hardest hit states were Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

LONDON, Ky. — The massive EF-4 tornado that killed 19 people in Kentucky last Friday tore through three counties leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Jackson, the tornado was nearly a mile wide and had peak wind speeds of 170 mph.

Additionally, there was no evidence that tornado sirens in the area had been deactivated by the Trump administration's budget cuts — if there was, the people affected by the storm certainly would have noted that fact in interviews.

Cuts to National Weather Service tested Kentucky office staffing ahead of deadly tornadoes - Deadly tornadoes ripped across Kentucky on Friday, killing at least 18 people

Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday that there were no problems with weather alerts after devastating tornadoes hit Kentucky Friday night.