As a storm system approached Jackson, in Southeastern Kentucky, on May 16, a few individuals agreed to work double shifts to make sure timely warnings continued during the overnight hours, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization.

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.

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.

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

The impact of staffing cuts to the National Weather Service was tested on Friday when an eastern Kentucky office had to use surge staffing and nearby offices to ensure the public received timely information about incoming deadly storms.

Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday that there were no problems with weather alerts after devastating tornadoes hit Kentucky Friday night.

Recent federal cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) have raised some concerns from the public over whether the organization's office in Jackson was able to issue warnings with enough time for residents to act.

The office in Jackson, Ky., is one of several left without an overnight forecaster after hundreds of jobs were recently cut from the National Weather Service.

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.

Areas in Laurel County that were impacted by a tornado late May 16 will be evacuated during the evening hours of May 20 ahead of more severe storms are set to move into the area, state and local officials announce during a news conference.