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.

The Jackson, Kentucky, weather service office recently cut overnight staff but meteorologists were called in to handle the deadly tornado outbreak.

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.

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.

The National Weather Service has finished its survey of the deadly tornado that ripped through southeastern Kentucky last week.

Gov. Andy Beshear praised the Trump administration’s response to a deadly tornado in his state, even as he worried about cuts at NWS.

A National Weather Service official said it was the deadliest tornado to ever come through the Jackson office's warning area.

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.