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

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.

Portions of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and western Kentucky are under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. on May 20.

The National Weather Service faces staffing shortages as tornadoes hit Kentucky, raising concerns about future severe weather preparedness.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A recent string of devastating tornadoes across the U.S. is underscoring a disturbing trend: while the total number of tornadoes each year is not significantly increasing, the most destructive outbreaks are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more clustered.

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

Preliminary storm surveys from the National Weather Service have confirmed significant tornado damage across multiple Kentucky counties following the recent severe weather outbreak.

Due to staffing shortages, the National Weather Service in Jackson no longer has overnight staff. But NWS and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear say the office was staffed Friday night and early Saturday.

The National Weather Service said a “multitude of hazardous weather” would impact the U.S. over the next several days — from thunderstorms and potentially baseball-sized hail on the Plains, to heavy mountain snow in the West and dangerous heat in the South.