Fifty people 'likely' killed in tornadoes: Kentucky governor

Beshear said they are nearing the end of the "most severe tornado event in Kentucky's history" with tornadoes touching down in multiple counties.

The hardest hit, he said, appears to be Graves where the city of Mayfield "has been devastated".

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said it received 36 reports of tornadoes touching down in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas.