Watch: Aerial footage of tornado damage as severe storm threat continues

The ongoing tornado outbreak in several US states has already killed at least 25 people with dozens injured and thousands of properties damaged.

Over the weekend there were 29 reported tornadoes focussed mostly in Kentucky and Missouri.

Aerial footage from the city of London, Kentucky shows the narrow and destructive path a tornado can take.

Often it is a matter of metres between properties being destroyed or not, depending on the exact path of the tornado.

More severe storms and tornadoes are expected across portions of the Central Plains on Monday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Kansas and northern areas of Oklahoma have the highest "moderate" risk with a population of nearly one million at threat from the most severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

By Tuesday, more than four million will be under the highest risk of severe storms and tornadoes across central and eastern Oklahoma and into the Ozarks.

Officials are warning of "significant multi-hazard severe weather including tornadoes - some potentially strong to intense - very large hail and severe winds".

Tornadoes in spring are a fairly normal occurrence in an area encompassing northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and parts of Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska and eastern Colorado.

This area is also known as "Tornado alley".

With warm air from the Gulf of Mexico to the south and weather systems bringing colder air from the north-west, it is in this region where the clash of these two air masses brings the right meteorological conditions for severe storms and tornadoes.

Data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the number of tornadoes in 2025 being above average.

Up to 17 May 2025 there have been 826 tornadoes compared to an average of 632 at this point in the year.