Black tornado looms ‘like scene in Stranger Things’ during storms which killed 27

‘Apocalyptic’ storms which swept across parts of the US Midwest and South have left at least 27 people dead.

Across Kentucky, at least 18 people were killed by severe weather, and another 10 were in a critical condition in hospital, Governor Andy Beshear said yesterday.

Residents of Somerset, Kentucky, shared videos online of a tornado looming over their town, lit up by flashes of lightning, with one comment saying it ‘literally looks like Stranger Things’ and others quoting Bible verses about Judgement Day.

Samantha Taylor told local TV channel WKYT-TV she had been in a cinema watching Final Destination at the time it struck.

‘Then in the middle of a movie, we got the tornado warning alarms and the movie went on for a few minutes, and then all the power went out,’ she said.

‘The next thing I know, one of the workers were telling us to get down, and then the roof collapsed in one of the theaters, and debris were flying. We were hunkering down in the hallway, and I was helping a mom to shield her kids from the debris.’

In Laurel County, rescuers were searching for survivors all night, according to the Sheriff’s Office, after buildings crumbled and cars were flipped near the town of London.

‘Lives have been changed forever here tonight. This is a time we come together, and we pray for this community,’ London Mayor Randall Weddle told WKYT-TV.

An emergency shelter has been set up at a local high school, and donations of food and other necessities are arriving.

Where were tornado warnings in place in the US?

The storms were part of a weather system on Friday that killed seven people in Missouri and also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, left several hundred thousand customers without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.

Where have they hit so far?

National Weather Service radar indicated a tornado touched down between 2.30pm and 2.50pm in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area.

The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

St Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed five deaths in her city and said more than 5,000 homes were affected.

The number of people injured was not immediately known.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm with some in serious condition and most expected to be discharged by Friday night, according to hospital spokesperson Laura High.

Chicago is also experiencing severe weather.

An apocalyptic ‘wall of dust’ barrelled across the windy city — so vast, it’s visible from space.

Satellite imagery shows the storm swallowing highways and buildings, plunging the city of 2.6 million people into darkness.

It has triggered visibility warnings, halted traffic, and left Chicago residents choking on dust.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a dust storm warning, only the second time in history it has done so.

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